Who Would You Save?
by lyonvastia
Summary: Sakura gets the opportunity to choose any moment in her life to travel back to and start over. Which age does she choose? Who does she try to save? What does she try to change and will she succeed or make things worse? Read to find out!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N – Hey everyone, I just thought about this idea and I thought it'd be very interesting if Sakura was ever given the chance to travel back in time to change everything. I know there's a lot of fics out there like this, but I'm doing my best to make this original as possible. Please enjoy and I hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer – I do not own Naruto but if I did the Akatsuki would definitely have their own spin off series. Not to mention Suigetsu would always randomly be in it :D**

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><p>The whole world turned black within the blink of an eye, yet everywhere you turned was on fire. Massive orange flames were spreading fast, consuming everything in its path.<p>

Loud explosions shook the ground throwing Sakura off balance and she hit the ground hard. Rolling over and wincing in pain from the impact, she quickly got into a crawling position, reminding herself that lives were at stake, and edged over to the man lying only inches away from her. It was important to calm herself down and concentrate on her healing chakra, but her hands were shaking terribly as she tried to steady herself over her former sensei's body.

She's never had to try to heal someone who was in as bad of a condition as he was in right now. It was amazing that he was even conscious at the moment. There were four huge wood splinters rooted deep inside his chest, courtesy of the ten tails, and one kunai knife wedged in between his shoulder blade thanks to Obito. An open wound was bleeding profusely from his side as were the chest wounds. Sweat was dripping down his stark white face and he was breathing heavily.

He looked up at her, his vision blurry and out of focus, trying not to lose his grip on reality.

"Sakura...don't," he breathed, his voice barely audible as he tried shifting his position. Gasping from the pain, his hand clutched around one of the splinters. Knowing it was pointless to try and remove it, he let it go and glanced back up to look into the face of his only girl student.

"Don't...just stop," he wheezed. "You know as well as I do it ends for me here. There's other people...they need your help."

It was true. They could hear the cries of others calling for someone to save them. As horrible as it was, Sakura wanted to block them out. She couldn't bear hearing their desperate pleas for help any longer, the strangled sounds that pierced her heart. A ninja was never supposed to let their own feelings interfere with their duty, but she had fallen prey to crying once again.

Around them the war was still raging on. Neither Obito's side or the shinobi alliance had given up and it looked like they were going to fight down to the very last person. Sakura didn't know how her other friends were faring at the moment and she was so nervous she was finding it difficult to breathe. But again, she forced herself to remain level headed for the sake of everyone else. She couldn't let them down. She didn't even want to think about the alternative.

Choosing to ignore Kakashi's last few words, she pressed her hands against his chest, feeling the chakra flowing through her and into his body.

He gently pushed her hands away.

"There's nothing you can do," he said a little harsher this time, trying to get the message across. "Go find Naruto...and the others...help them...keep them safe. Stop Madara...and Obito..."

Sakura shook her head not bothering to wipe the tears away. "No Kakashi! Don't say-"

"Sakura!" he cut her off sharply. His eyes were pleading with her, begging her to trust his words.

"I'll be alright. But...before you go...please, just talk to me. I need to hear you talk. Someone I care about. One...last time."

Knowing full well he wouldn't survive, she bit down on her lip and tried to regain her composure. Understanding he wanted, she thought of the most comforting thing she could say in a moment like this.

"Kakashi, remember when you first met us? Team Seventhat is. And you called us idiots," she chuckled nervously. "Naruto acted like an idiot, always trying to prove to everyone how great he was. I was too obsessed with boys and Sasuke was moody and didn't get along with any of us. Well, those were some of the best moments of my life. And it's all thanks to you. You believed in us right from the very beggining and helped shape me into being the best person I can be. Without your training, I probably would never have even made it as a ninja. I've learned so many important lessons from you. The one that sticks out most in my mind is how important it is to protect your friends and of course, teamwork. Can't forget that one," she laughed, and Kakashi smiled from underneath his mask.

"And I just want to tell you, you're one of the most important people to me...and I love you. I really do. So does Naruto. nd we're proud of you. Your father would be too. Everyone is. They wouldn't have chosen you to be Hokage if you weren't a great ninja—a great man. I'll never forget the way you always showed up late. And I promise you, I will never give up. I'll keep fighting to protect those I love. Just like you taught me," Sakura finished and she realized she was both crying and laughing at the memories they shared together.

Never taking her eyes off his, she watched as they lit up. They were radiant. No other word could describe them.

"Thank you." Then slowly, ever so slowly, his eyes closed for the last time and his hand fell limp in hers.

"You'll be alright. No one can hurt you now," she whispered, kissing his forehead. It was so peaceful and quiet in that moment Sakura forgot there was a wild and violent war raging on around her. But she couldn't move. She felt inclined to stay with her sensei and protect his body from further harm.

Glancing down at him once more, she noticed that even in death, Kakashi's mask had stayed with him. Right to the very end. Laughing nervously, she hiccuped and leaned closer, still curious to know what his real face looked like.

The mask may have been torn and ripped in numerous places, but it still concealed him well. Her hand moved to remove it, and only centimeters before touching it, she hesitated.

"I...I can't do it. It wouldn't be right. If he didn't show us when he was-," Sakura couldn't bring herself to say the word. Instead, she said, "I have to respect his privacy."

The thick gray, smoke that was now clogging the air brought her back to reality. Standing unsteadily on her feet, she glanced from her hands, covered in blood and dirt, to Kakashi's body. She wished she could say he looked peaceful in his last moments, but with all that blood and open wounds, he truly looked terrible.

Hearing a yell in the distance, Sakura whipped her head around so fast she almost snapped her neck. It belonged to Naruto!

"No!" she shouted. Turning back to Kakashi she said, "I'm sorry to leave you Kakashi sensei but I'm going to honor your words. I have to protect Naruto."

Regaining her confidence, she sprinted in the direction of her friend's scream, a determined look on her face.

"Naruto!" she cried, her arms swinging wildly as she jumped over debris and dodged flames.

Bodies were scattered all around her, but she couldn't stop. Their one goal had been to protect the Jinchuurikis. She wanted to stay and help those who were hurt and in pain, but she continued on, hoping the other medics would see to them.

Until she crashed right into a wounded but alive Lee.

"Sakura!" he yelled in surprise, taking the tear stained, grime ridden pink-haired girl in his arms. "The ten tails is uncontrollable at the moment. Avoid the tails and stay out of the action. Heal others if you can. Last time I saw Hinata she was seriously injured and still fighting with Naruto. Please, stay safe and help her if. It's what Neji would have wanted. So go!"

"At least let me heal you!" she protested.

"No, there's no time," he said, and tears were streaming down his face as well, the pain of losing his teammate still fresh on his mind. "I'll be alright."

A knot formed in Sakura's chest and she suddenly felt uneasy. Last time she heard those words someone she loved died. She had a very bad feeling about what he was going to do. She couldn't lose him as well!

Lee saw that look in her eyes and he shook his head firmly, running away to join the fight before she could stop him.

Biting her lip, she stared at his retreating figure than hustled away, still in search of Naruto.

She heard another yell coming from the direction she was running in and she instantly stopped in her tracks, recognizing that voice immediately. Sasuke...? Since when did he join the fray?

Coming upon a clearing, she finally reached them. Both Sasuke and Naruto stood, facing each other - Naruto with a look of surprise and Sasuke looked almost...remorseful. Almost.

Looking around wildly for Hinata like Lee has asked her too, she spotted her not too far away in the distance, still resisting against Madara and Obito, her body blazing with Naruto's chakra, entire battlefront shinobi alliance at her side.

Sakura turned back to look at Naruto and Sasuke, unable to react to the entire scene.

"Why are you here?" Naruto questioned his former teammate. He also caught Sakura standing a distance away in his peripheral vision but he chose not to say anything.

"The first Hokage told me everything I wanted to know. I've made my decision in regards to Konoha. But that can wait. Madara and Tobi need to be defeated."

A smile started to form on Sakura's lips. Did this mean Sasuke had finally seen the light? But before Naruto could reply the ten tails let out a deafening roar as Obito controlled it to send an unknown Fire release justu in their direction.

Sakura started running towards them, crying and calling out to them to dodge the attack, pushing her way forward in hopes of using her own body as a shield.

She didn't make it on time.

The blast created from the ten tails was so powerful that it blew Sakura off her feet and she slammed into a tree, hard, and fell to the ground.

Her head was aching, and she could hardly see as she woke up after a brief period of unconsciousness. Chunks of debris fell in pieces all around her and she struggled to see what the outcome had been. Part of her was afraid of what she'd find, but she had to know.

Once the smoke cleared, she saw Naruto's body on the ground and she crawled over to him, wincing in pain every few seconds.

When she arrived at the scene, she almost passed right back out. There was a hole. Right through Naruto's chest.

"No," she said in a strangled voice, unable to believe it. "No, please. I-I can't lose you! You were supposed to be Hokage! You...the one person who needed to stay alive...no!" She was now blinded by her tears.

"Sa...Sakura? Is that...you?"

Turning around at the sound of her name, she spotted Sasuke, at least fifteen feet away, the lower half of his body completely crushed by an enormous piece of debris.

She couldn't even begin to imagine the amount of pain he must be in. And she didn't know what to do. It felt like a movie. Or some terrible nightmare she would never wake up from. Everything was in slow motion as she hurried over to his side.

Sakura crouched over his body, trembling as she raised her arm over his chest to see if it were possible to heal the damage. However, he pushed it away, lacking his usual strength.

"I didn't think...it would end like this," he choked out. Since her face was inches from his own, he had no choice but to look into her eyes, thinking he would see all the pain he forced her to endure over the years reflected back at him. But instead he saw love and concern, leading him to believe she had never truly given up on him.

That's when he whispered, "After all this...time. You're still...annoying as ever."

Sakura instantly frowned, confused and wondering if she had heard wrong when Sasuke suddenly lifted his hand and brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

"I'm sorry."

Drawing his last breath, his hand fell to the ground and his eyes went blank.

Sakura sat there in the burnt grass. Just sat there. And sat there. Motionless. Unable to cry anymore.

She didn't hear the cries and shouts of war, but she couldn't pick herself up. Couldn't even save her other friends. Hopefully they were alright. For she was empty pretty empty at the moment.

Then, tilting her head to look at Naruto, she screamed and burst out crying once more. Throwing her hands on the ground and collapsing she felt herself go insane. She was losing it. Cursing the heavens. In her mind she was denying the possibility that Naruto had died. Kakashi...and even Sasuke. They couldn't have died. It was impossible. But Naruto and Sasuke's bodies didn't lie.

Sitting back up, she buried her face into her knees and locked her arms around her.

A loud crack startled her out of her position and she looked around wildly to find everything had seemed to freeze in time.

She watched as a silhouette appeared in the distance. Only it was growing closer, walking towards her.

She gasped in surprise when it turned out to be a man. He looked to be in his early thirties and was wearing red and white clothing. He had curly blonde hair that fell to his shoulders and his bright blue eyes were gleamed as he stopped in front of her.

"You may try to find meaning in their deaths, but there is only pain. Come," the stranger beckoned with his hand, "you can no longer help them. They have gone where they cannot come back. Nagato isn't here to save them this time."

Her eyes widening, Sakura turned to the man, the tear streaks still plastered on her grimy face. "How do you know about that?"

Without looking at her, he continued walking and replied, "There are many things I know. Please, come quickly."

She didn't know why she followed him, but she did. Everything seemed so surreal at the moment, like a dream.

"Where are we going?" she asked. "Who are you?"

"So many questions," he said shaking his head. "Close your eyes."

"Why?"

"Just do it."

Closing her eyes, Sakura felt a weird sensation come over her. It felt like the wind was rushing all around her, coursing through her even, yet she stayed rooted to the spot.

"Alright. You can open them now."

Opening her eyes, she gasped. No longer in a war zone, she was standing in a beautiful valley filled with wild flowers and lakes and there was even a small cottage nearby.

She noticed that the sun was beginning to set here and the rays reflected off the crystal clear water.

Before she could open her mouth the man turned to her and asked, "What do you think?" Gesturing to the surrounding area.

She couldn't believe only moments ago she stood in a burning field with debris scattered everywhere.

"It's...it's beautiful. I've never seen a place as peaceful and gorgeous as this. Where are we?"

"This is where I come often. I don't live here, so don't ask. I'm Olivier by the way."

"Not to be rude," she said, trying to choose her words carefully, "but who are you? And how-how did we even get here? I don't understand!"

"I brought you here because I'm curious about something. And I'm prepared to offer you a deal."

"What kind of deal? And why are you curious?"

"What is it you want most in this world?" Olivier asked, clearly ignoring her questions.

Figuring it was best to just comply she whispered, unable to stop the tears stinging at her eyes, "To stop this war and protect my friends. But I already failed. The people closet to me—they," she couldn't bring herself to say it.

"Funny. I had a feeling you'd say that. Well, what would you say if I could make that happen?"

"Oh yeah. How?" Sakura accused, not trusting the man at all, still hardly believing this wasn't just a genjustsu someone had created. But with her level of ability, she knew in her heart it wasn't. She couldn't tell what this was. Whether it was a jutsu or not.

"Oh, just a little form of time travel," he answered simply. "If you do choose to do this, you should be aware that there are rules. And consequences if necessary," he added as an afterthought.

Sakura mauled this new information in her mind for awhile. She didn't even know if she believed it. But after living through that nightmare and him teleporting them to this beautiful meadow, she was almost starting believe him.

"Wait," she said holding her hands up. She paused for a second. "So, when you say time travel, do you mean back to the moment before the war began?"

"No. You can choose whichever period you so desire to revisit. So, if you want to fourteen years old again, go for it. If you want to be five, that's fine by me."

Sakura thought very carefully about what he just said. This opened a whole stream of ideas in her head. If she could travel back that far, well, she could save so many people! Maybe she could somehow stop Itachi from slaughtering his clan. And she could befriend Naruto at a young age.

"What are the rules you talked about?"

Olivier nodded his head. "First, you are never allowed to speak about this. No one from the past can know you are from the future. If you do slip up and tell, you'll automatically disappear. So basically, _you will cease to exist." _

Sakura opened her mouth to protest but Olivier continued on with a wave of his hand.

"Second, I know what you're thinking right now. You want to help your friends, people who aren't your friends, and basically, I can see in your eyes you think you can change the whole world by going back in time. Am I right?"

"Uhm...maybe," Sakura admitted. "But what's wrong with that? If I can do it I will."

Olivier laughed. "Good. I like your type. It's interesting. Very interesting. Anyways, to keeps things, how should I put this...ah...yes...entertaining, I want you to write down the names of the three people you'd like to help the most by going back in time." A sly smile crossed his face and a piece of paper appeared in his hand and a pen in the other and he handed it to her.

Catching that smile, she didn't trust it. She didn't know what he was going to say, but she had a weird feeling. Like there was a catch to all this. One she wouldn't like. It took her ten minutes to write down the three names because she had to really think it over.

"Done," she announced.

"I see. This will act as the contract between you and I." He snapped his fingers and the scroll and pen vanished. "Now," he paused dramatically, his eyes gleaming. "Prepare yourself for the plot twist. One of those people, you will not be able to save. No matter what you do. Whatever terrible thing it was that happened to them in your original timeline will remain the same. Or possibly even take a turn for the worse." He chuckled. "I'll let you decide who that is."

"I knew it," Sakura muttered. "I had a feeling you'd trick me. Why is it so necessary I can't save one of them? What? Is this for your own sick entertainment!?"

"Listen, I didn't agree to do this for your benefit," Olivier shrugged his shoulders," but yes you're right. For my amusement. I haven't done anything like this in the past couple hundred years and I'm bored. Also, I simply _love_ how desperate you are to save your friends. What is it with young people and believing they can change a person? Change the world? It perplexes –no, astounds me!"

"If that's how you're going to play it then I don't want to be apart of this!"

"Ah ah ah!" He wagged his finger at her and twirled on the spot so his cape circled around him, flashing her a mischievous grin. "We had a deal if I remember correctly."

Scowling, Sakura furrowed her eyebrows and clenched her fists. What was with this guy? He seemed so nice before and now he was just acting like a devious asshole.

_'Relax Sakura, relax. Take a deep breath and don't let him upset you so easily,'_ she told herself.

Taking her own advice, she let out a long breath, dropped her arms to her sides, and looked past the trees to gaze at the horizon. The sun was setting and the sky was a brilliant mixture of orange, yellow, pink, purple, blue and red. Words could never describe how beautiful it was. It's as if the colors and intensity of the light is just enough to calm someone down. Sakura didn't know how long she stared at it. It could have been minutes. Perhaps it was hours. She didn't know. The rays were friendly and she was reminded of her old friends. Their faces floated by in the sky and she smiled as she remembered the first day of training with Team Kakashi. She and her teammates, Naruto and Sasuke, had missed the whole point of that first training exercise. Teamwork. She sighed,holding her face in her hands as she recalled the reason for her lack of teamwork. Sasuke. She had been so in love with him because he was cool and good looking and already an exceptional ninja. Or at least she thought she had been. Why did she have to be so boy obsessed? She should have spent that time training and working on her own skills.

"Well, once I start over, that's going to be the first thing I change," she said to no one in particular.

Olivier grinned.

"So you sure you want to do this?"

"I thought I didn't have a choice."

"You dont." His smile widened.

Sakura didn't like this man. Not at all. His charming and charismatic personality left her feeling suspicious as well as nervous.

"Whatever. I'm aware of the "rules". You made it very clear what they were. I've made my decision."

"I see you have," he agreed and a small smile crept to his lips. "I can tell you're the type of person who is stubborn and refuses to change their mind once they've reached a conclusion. But here's some food for thought. Have you ever considered how your choice might affect others?"

"Yes, I've thought about it. I...I have a plan."

"Care to elaborate?" He clasped his hands together, leaning forward as if awaiting her answer.

"No," she replied firmly, staring him dead in the eye, a confident expression on her face

"What a shame," he mused, clicking his tongue. "I'm not one who likes surprises, but I have to say, you've caught my interest. I'm curious to know how this will end."

"Me too," she mumbled.

"Well, have you chosen what age you'd like to return to? I can't do anything until you relay that information."

"Yes. Seven years old," Sakura said confidently. She had a plan. She just hoped it would work out.

Olivier raised his hands and before she could say anything, darkness fell over and everything went black.


	2. Chapter 2

Sakura remembered a bright flash of light, a tingling sensation that engulfed her whole body in terrible discomfort, and then – darkness.

Coming to her senses, she slowly opened her eyes and was greeted with a bright stream of sunlight right in the face. "Ah not the sun," she moaned, pulling bed covers over her body to shield herself.

That's when she noticed something was off. Her voice! It sounded so much younger, like she was still a child. Scrambling to pull the sheets off of her, she quickly jumped out of her bed and ran to look in the mirror.

But the mirror wasn't there. Well where could it possibly be then. Her vision still fuzzy, she glanced around the room, noticing many items were missing. Her big wooden desk her dad had made her when she was only ten was gone. The collection of weapons she had collected over the years was not there.

Neither were the medicinal books she always kept in her room.

Instead, the room she now stood in belonged to a little girl. The walls were pink and the huge bed situated in the center of the room was filled with an assorted number of stuffed animals and plushies.

On the walls were shelves which all contained childish toys or books. Walking over to one of them, she pulled 'Introduction to Standard Ninja Weapons,' off the shelf and began flipping through the pages. On page 13 was a very detailed diagram on how to correctly throw a kunai knife. In the margins were tons of little hints such as when to use a kunai knife or how to never miss a target. Closing the book, she realized this was a book she read back when she had first attended the ninja academy. She must have been only six or seven at the time. She couldn't recall who the teacher who assigned the book had been though. Their class had gone through a lot of teachers but she couldn't remember why.

And that's when it hit her. Olivier. The deal. Kakashi dying in her arms. Lee crying. Naruto dead. Sasuke apologizing before collapsing to the ground and also dying.

Before she could think about this frightening discovery, a tall woman with spiky blonde hair entered the room.

"Sakura? Are you up yet? I was just coming to-"

Her words were lost when Sakura let out a huge gasp and tackled her mother in a loving embrace. She held on tightly, not wanting to let her mother go.

The last time she saw her mother was just before she headed off to war.

Konohamaru and the younger ninjas, appointed leaders of the village by Tsunade herself, had been given the duty of protecting the citizens of the village while the older shinobi left to fight. But Sakura had no idea if anyone had attacked their village while they were gone.

But none of that mattered now because her mother was alive and well! Smiling to herself, she realized Olivier had really done it. He sent her back in time which meant she was only seven now. Plenty of time to change everything.

"Sakura whats wrong? What the heck are you crying for?" her mother asked.

It was true. Tears were still streaming down Sakura's face. But now it was mostly out of happiness at the fact that everyone she was knew was still alive and they weren't currently at war.

Looking up at her mom Sakura smiled, "I had a bad dream but it's okay now! Is Dad home?"

"Actually he went to work early this morning, but he wished you good luck today and that he's very proud of you! As am I. You better kick the other students asses and show them what women can do!" her mother exclaimed, eyes gleaming with excitement.

"Mom!" Sakura groaned, slumping over in her bed. Wait a minute. She snapped her head back up. "Proud? Why? What's today?" Sakura asked puzzled.

"Are you feeling alright kiddo? Don't you remember attending the Academy enrollment ceremony yesterday? Today's the first day of classes! You'd better hope you make lots of friends! Hah. Don't be like me. I just scared everyone off."

First day of classes? Sakura's heart leapt with joy. This meant she would get to see Naruto and Sasuke again! As well as the rest of the rookie nine. And much sooner than she expected. She was so excited her mother assumed Sakura had calmed down and was back to normal again.

Before leaving the room her mother paused and said, "Get dressed Sakura! Class starts soon!"

Grabbing a blue shirt and yellow pants out of her closet Sakura said to herself, "Alright, time to befriend Naruto and Sasuke and prevent Itachi from slaughtering his clan. Well..." she hesitated fora second. "I'm not sure how...but I_ will_ think of something."

Leaving out that ridiculous red ribbon she used to wear in her hair, she walked out her front door determined to change the future.

It was a beautiful sunny morning as she walked through the streets of Konoha. Seeing familiar places and faces again, she never realized how much she truly loved the village.

Absorbed in how wonderful it was to see Konoha not under attack, Sakura wasn't paying attention and walked right into someone.

Knocked to the ground by the stranger's sheer size, Sakura rubbed her forehead and muttered, "Sorry."

Looking up into the person's face, her eyes gleamed with surprise and she jumped up in delight.

"Jiraiya!" she shouted with happiness. Losing herself for a moment, she hugged him around his waist not caring that he was the pervy old man she used to berate whenever they crossed paths. Especially since they always seemed to run into each other during one of his "research" missions.

"Can I help you?" The sannin asked, eyebrows raised, completely shocked that some little girl he had never met was clinging on to him tightly.

"Uh," Sakura stuttered, unsure of what to say. How do you explain to someone that they died in the future and you're overjoyed to see them alive again? "I uh...I just know that you're one of the legendary Sannins and wanted to tell you I highly respect that and one day I want to grow as powerful as you."

Sakura mentally kicked herself. Did her generation even know who the sannins were at this tender age of seven? She needed to think before she spoke. Usually she did. It almost seemed like she really was reverting back to her younger self. Her younger, brash self that used to get her in trouble with her parents all the time.

But to her surprise Jiraiya laughed heartily. "Have you started at the ninja academy yet?"

Sakura shook her head. "Today's my first day. But I've been practicing ninjutsu already." It wasn't technically a lie she supposed. Sakura knew and had practiced highly advanced ninjustu when she had her older body. She highly doubted she'd still be able to perform that ninjustu in a young body such as this one, but even if she could everyone would think of her as a child prodigy and she didn't want that. She couldn't let herself stand out.

She needed to be careful.

"Have you now? Well, I like your determination. You remind me of a student I once taught... and I'd sure like to see how your ninjutsu is coming along. But I must be off for the time being. I have plenty of research to do." He winked.

Sakura grimaced. Same old Jiraiya.

"Perhaps I could give you some pointers one day..." His voice trailed off because he didn't know her name.

Understanding at once why he paused she said, "I'm Sakura." She didn't know what to say to that though. He had been Naruto's sensei - not hers. She felt like it was wrong to even consider it but she had an idea.

"Thank you for your offer but I'm not sure if it would do any good because I'm interested in medical ninjutsu. But I have a friend who would probably love to take you up on your proposal!"

"Who's that?"

"Naruto Uzumaki! I have to go now though but I hope you'll consider meeting him one day. I can tell he'll be a powerful ninja one day. I'm pretty good at sensing chakra already. He just needs some help getting there." Waving, she left and hurried of to get to class on time. She knew she had just lied - she and Naruto weren't even friends yet, but if she could introduce them sooner than she believed it would change Naruto's life for the better.

Jiraiya stood there, not really understanding what just happened. There was something different about this girl and he liked it. He hadn't really wanted to take on any pupils since Yahiko, Nagato and Konan, but he was starting to reconsider. Besides, he still hadn't taught the child of prophecy according to the toad sage.

And Naruto Uzumaki? Minato's son. Well, he was his appointed godfather after all. It was only natural he'd one day teach him everything he knew. Unfortunately, he was only back in the village for a couple days and was supposed to be leaving for a mission that could take years, but perhaps he could stick around to formally meet Naruto before he set off on his journey.


	3. Chapter 3

Sakura nervously opened the door to the Konoha ninja academy. This was it. Time to see all her old friends again, whether they realize it or not.

Glancing around at everyone, a flash of bright blonde hair caught her eye. Naruto was standing on his desk, bragging about something to a group of kids. She didn't know what he was saying, but judging from the looks on the other kids faces, it must have been stupid. When her eyes rested on Sasuke her heart skipped a beat. He was a little kid again, seven years old, and happier than she ever remembered seeing him. He was still alone, like always, but she could just tell. The Uchiha clan was still alive.

Unsure of what to do, Sakura walked past everyone and took a seat at the very back of the classroom so she could think things through carefully. As much as she wanted to sit with Naruto or Sasuke, she resisted that temptation. She needed to think things through very carefully before making a move. Don't want to do anything stupid.

Shikamaru and Choji were the last ones to walk through the door and they took the seats next to Sakura as every other seat was filled. She had no problem with that. She and Shikamaru had become good friends after going on so many missions together and Chouji was probably the nicest guy she had ever met.

Resting her chin on her hand, Sakura sighed, her eyes fixated on Sasuke, who was currently gazing out the window with a determined look on his face.

A lazy voice brought her out of her thoughts. "Don't tell me you're obsessed with Sasuke too? That's all I hear about from girls these days. It's troublesome."

"Girls are so weird," Choji agreed, nodding his head while he pulled out a bag of chips from his bag. Opening them with a big grin on his face, he began stuffing chips in his mouth as if he'd never see food again.

Laughing Sakura said, "No, I was just staring out the window thinking about something."

"Wow," Shikamaru said in surprise. "Do my ears deceive me? Seems like there's actually one sane girl in this world."

Kiba, who had been eavesdropping on the whole conversation turned around in his seat to face the three of them. Rubbing his chin thoughtfully he said, "Huh? So you don't like Sasuke either? Neither does this girl!"

Grinning widely at the quiet girl next to him, he clapped her on the back while she turned bright red.

"I...uh...I," Hinata stuttered, glancing around nervously.

Sakura smirked, knowing exactly who it was she liked. Well, maybe she wasn't as infatuated with Naruto at the moment since they were so young, but she knew later on she definitely did. Perhaps she could help move their relationship along.

But did Kiba like her? Sakura had never thought about that before. They were teammates and Kiba always rushed to protect her.

"So, how do you know she doesn't?" Sakura asked him.

Chuckling as if it should have been obvious he replied, "She's not staring lovingly at him like all the other girls in here are, duh! Liking people is so stupid anyways! All I can think about is training and fighting until I become strong enough to become the Hokage one day! Isn't that right Akamaru?"

Akamaru barked happily in response from atop Kiba's head.

"When's the teacher going to get here? If I knew he wasn't go to be here on time I would have stayed home and got some more sleep," Shikamaru complained, frowning at the empty podium.

"I should have brought more food," Choji moaned, shaking the empty potato chip bag sadly.

Kiba pumped his fist triumphantly in the air. "I can't wait 'till we're throwing kunai knives around and blasting people with ninjutsu!"

"You do realize there are other things we do here than just learning how to fight. Apparently flower arranging is part of the curriculum," Shikmaru snorted and Kiba lookled crestfallen.

Hinata tapped her fingers against each other timidly and said, "Besides, you might hurt someone if you're not careful Kiba."

Sakura smiled at her words. Hinata was so gentle and kind—which is what she loved about her. Before the attack on Konoha took place, she had trained nonstop every single day until she was sweating and gasping for breath. It was amazing how one person could really change someone from a shy little girl to a determined woman bent on becoming stronger. Too bad Naruto didn't give her the confidence she needed until the chuunin exams. Just another thing Sakura would have to change then.

"Hinata, once we start learning the basics of fighting, would you want to train together sometimes?" Sakura offered.

"Hey yeah! That's a great idea! Count me in!" Kiba exclaimed, leaning backward in his chair and pointing to himself. Shaking her head and smiling, Sakura remembered one of Kiba's distinct qualities was finding a way to interrupt every conversation.

"So Hinata, you for it?" Kiba asked while feeding Akamaru a dog biscuit.

Hinata's eyes grew wide and Sakura was sure she felt overwhelmed from the amount of attention she was receiving, but she gave a small smile and said, "Sure. That would be nice."

"Choji, Shikamaru, what about you guys? We could meet at the training field once a week or every other week or something."

"Sounds like too much work," Shikamaru said making a troubled face. "But I'm all for looking at the clouds."

Choji gave Sakura a grateful expression when she mentioned his name and nodded his head enthusiastically. Ahe faintly remembered him not fitting in so well at this age. Well, if her plan worked, than all of the rookie nine would become friends much sooner than how it happened in her timeline. No one was going to be left out. Not even Naruto.

Sasuke may be harder to welcome into the group because he had been a loner even when the Uchiha clan was still alive. Of course, he had been much happier and even respectful towards people, but he only seemed to hang around his fellow clansmen. Not anyone at the ninja academy. But that didn't surprise Sakura now that she knew the Uchiha clan was plotting to overthrow the village. Well, technically they currently are planning to overthrow it right now. She kept forgetting she was in the past!

Sighing, Sakura slumped down on her desk, covering her face with her hands. What was she going to do? She wanted to prevent Sasuke's clan from being murdered but that was a long shot. Even if she miraculously did somehow pull it off than they would try to take over the village. And that would only cause a war.

"Sakura, you okay?" Kiba asked, punching her in the arm and pulling her out of her thoughts.

Lifting her head up immediately she said, "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, I just blanked out."

Hinata started to say "You look worried-" when the door opened and a tall man with his brown hair pulled back in a style similar to that of Shikamaru's stepped into the room. Iruka sensei!

Iruka stopped walking when an eraser appeared out of nowhere, bounced off his shoulder and landed on the floor. Frowning he turned to the class and demanded, "Who did this?"

Naruto jumped up from where he was sitting and started laughing hysterically pointing at Iruka "I gotcha!" He was wearing a huge, dopey grin on his face and his eyes were closed.

Sometimes Sakura forgot how annoying Naruto used to be when we were kids. Of course, she couldn't deny how annoying she herself had been. But now she completely understood why he acted the way he did. She too would have gone insane if she had no parents and everyone in the village seemed to hate her for no reason. The more and more she thought about it, the more Sakura wanted to kick herself for treating him like such shit. At least she have plenty of time to make up for that. And she definitely would. That's her promise to Naruto. He once made a promise to her...to bring Sasuke back. She never realized what that kind of burden had had on him until Sai flat out told her. Well, she was going to return the favor. Sakura planned on giving him the best childhood he could ever have starting now. Not to mention finding a way to stop Sasuke from becoming evil and fueled by revenge. Then they could all be best friends...or at least Sasuke and Naruto could be.

Sakura didn't plan on sticking around Konoha. She had so many others on her list who needed help. Like Gaara for instance. But how could she ever find a way to leave the village without being noticed? Plus, her parents would freak out and probably alert the shinobi to tail her. And she didn't even know how she would get past the guards to the sand village. But she _had_ to save Gaara. He's going through the exact same thing as Naruto right now. All he wants is a friend. If only she could introduce them somehow...

Another person she's wanted to help for the longest time now is...Sasori. After he let himself be killed by his puppets that looked like his parents, she felt like a piece of her heart was ripped out. It was just so sad. So many people Sakura has met in her life have seemed to have downright depressing lives. Unfortunately, she didn't think there was any hope for Sasori. If she was seven right now, than that would make him twenty five. Which also means that he's more than likely way past saving.

Downcast at that thought, she looked up, not even realizing that Iruka had finished given Naruto a lecture and sent him back to his seat. Right now he was in the middle of introducing himself along with his likes and dislikes.

Blocking out Iruka's voice because she already knew the answer to everything he was saying, she was soon absorbed in her own thoughts again.

Sakura wish she had completely planned out what she was going to do before accepting Olivier's deal because she honestly had no idea anymore. She had an overall goal she wanted to reach, but no way of getting there.

Well, before she could even start helping people like Gaara and Sasori, she needed to work on those from Konoha first. Including Rock Lee and Neji. Not completely educated on his background, she had the understanding that Rock Lee was mocked relentlessly by his peers when he was a student and he didn't deserve that at all. No one did. After class gets out, she'd ask Iruka where the older children hold classes and try to run into Lee later this week and invite him to a training session.

As for Neji, someone needed to get through to his thick head that fate is not decided at birth, and that you can change your destiny. That person really needs to be Naruto though. She wanted Naruto to be the one who is known for being able to change people for the better, not her. That's how it was in the future and that's how it will be now. First things first, she had to befriend Naruto!

"Sakura, come on! Iruka sensei is having the class go outside. You don't want to miss it," Choji said, shaking my shoulder gently.

Looking around the room, she realized everyone was heading out the door, shoving each other and laughing in excitement.

Kiba and Hinata must have already been out the door as she didn't see them anywhere.

"Come on you three!" Iruka sensei called, waving Sakura, Choji, and Shikamaru, over.

Getting up from her desk, she thanked Choji and the three of them hurried to catch up with the rest of the class.

"Why are we going outside?" she asked turning to both of them, confused.

"Sensei said he was going to show us a demonstration of the proper way to use a shuriken!" Choji rambled excitedly.

Sighing, Shikamaru took his hands out of his pockets, put them behind his head and said, "Why do we have to do so much work on the first day of school?"

"You really are lazy aren't you?" Sakura playfully punched him in the side and tried to stifle a giggle. Shikamaru was so lazy—even as a kid!

Smirking, he replied, "Nah, I'm just a coward. I really don't even like fighting."

"Then why the heck are you training to become a ninja!" she demanded.

"I thought it would be cool to be a ninja, to go on missions and stuff, but I didn't think it would be so much work. And it's only been the first day."

Raising her eyebrow Sakura said, "But-but we haven't even done anything except wait for Iruka sensei and listen to him give a speech about himself!"

"Ah," Shikamaru grinned, raising a finger, "but if you had been paying attention, you would have remembered Iruka sensei explaining about all the homework and tests we were going to be given in the near future."

"Yeah, I definitely heard him say that," Choji groaned, pulling his hair. "I already know I'm going to fail!"

"Well I'm pretty smart when it comes to taking tests and such. I could help you study if you want Choji," Sakura offered, vaguely recalling Choji and Shikamaru had barely graduated the ninja academy due to their low grades. In fact, she recalled Naruto and Kiba having the same problem. All four of them never payed attention in class and were always causing trouble some way or another.

Laughing at this memory, she turned to Shikamaru and stuck out her tongue. "Don't worry, I can help you study too Shikamaru."

"Are you kidding me?" he asked in disbelief. "I'm pretty smart you know. And I can beat everyone at shogi! Well, except my dad..." His voice trailed off and he started mumbling under his breath about his dad playing dirty.

"So you're setting up a study group now too are you?" A familiar voice said.

Looking up, Sakura realized Kiba and Hinata were standing in front of the door that led to the entrance to the training grounds.

"Oh hey Kiba! So you did wait for us after all?" she greeted Kiba with a smile on her face and turned to slug Shikamaru.

Clutching his stomach, he gasped, "Ah you're strong. What was that for?"

"For saying you were smarter than me!"

"I bet I am smarter than you!"

"Oh yeah? I bet I could beat you at shogi!"

"You're so on!"

"Okay fine. Tomorrow. After class. Your place."

"Party at Shikamaru's? I'm in!" This was from Kiba.

"Are you going to have food?" Choji asked, his stomach growling.

Shikamaru tilted his head to the side to look at his friend, "Guess I have to stock up on some considering Kiba invited everyone over to my house."

Kiba grinned sheepishly and glanced at Hinata. "You're coming too right?"

"Of course she is!" Sakura said, putting an arm around her. "We can start training after I kick Shikamaru's butt!"

Hinata gave a genuine smile and said, "I can't wait! I just hope my Dad is okay with it."

The five of them, laughing and talking about their plans for tomorrow, walked out the door to where the rest of the class stood around Iruka sensei.

"Now, I want each of you to demonstrate your ninja skills," he was saying.

The entire class groaned all at once, giving off a comical effect.

Iruka chuckled nervously, "Don't worry, you won't be graded. This is just so I can assess how to proceed with our lessons."

"So, we'll start off with throwing shurikens. First up, Sasuke Uchiha."

Sasuke stepped forward and Sakura groaned inwardly as several girls, including Ino, burst out in high pitched squeals and shouts, wishing him good luck and other petty things. Did she really use to be like that? How pathetic.

Ignoring his fan girls, Sasuke took the five shurikens Iruka held in his hands, and threw them at the target without a moment of hesitation.

Each one clearly hit the target and of course, all the fan girls started whooping and hollering.

Kiba, Shikamaru, and Sakura all exchanged glances with one another and started laughing. Those girls were so annoying, yet she couldn't help but chuckle. It was just so ridiculous! Hinata didn't laugh, but Sakura could tell she was trying to suppress a grin.

Sasuke smiled when all five shurikens hit the mark and turned to look at Sakura and the other kids as they broke out in laughter. He gave them a questioning look and walked away.

Hmm, maybe that wasn't a smart move. Sakura didn't want him to think she was annoying right off the bat. Of course, he's never seemed to like her, but she would get Sasuke Uchiha to befriend her if that was the last thing she did!


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N – Hello guys! First I just want to say thank you to everyone who reviewed or favorited! You really give me the inspiration I need to keep writing!**

**To NobodyinParticular – She got hit in the shoulder, but when a medical-nin uses Mystical Palm Technique,they usually place their hands on their stomach and use their chakra to control which part of the body they want to heal, whether it be internally or externally.**

**Hope you guys enjoy this next chapter!**

* * *

><p>"Well done Sasuke." Iruka sensei said, glancing down at his clipboard to announce the next name on the list.<p>

Naruto, who was standing behind Shikamaru, stuck his head up and scoffed loudly, "Hah! What a show off! I can do that too!"

Iruka raised an eyebrow smiling. "Alright Naruto, you're next."

Naruto beamed proudly, shoved Shikamaru out of his way and ran over to where Sasuke had just been standing.

Iruka handed another set of shuriken to Naruto warily. "Don't forget to pause and think before you throw them. Visualize where you want the shuriken to hit. It's okay to hesitate for a second. This is only practice."

"Just wait until you see what I can do! I'll show you guys! I'm way better than Sasuke!" Naruto yelled with excitement, not listening to a word Iruka sensei had said.

_'I'm going to do it in one throw. Then everyone will notice me and I'll have tons of friends!_' Naruto thought to himself.

Taking a deep breath, he concentrated on the tree with all his might and let the shurikens fly out out of his hands, hoping for the best.

Naruto's face immediately filled with dread when he heard a loud thwack and someone's gasp of pain.

Turning around slowly, he found the class gathered in a circle around something on the ground and Iruka sensei threw his clipboard down and rushed over to assess the situation.

"Sakura! Someone go get the medical-nin! Hurry!" He heard Iruka sensei say frantically, yet his voice seemed so far away.

Naruto eyes grew wide with fear and he felt a pit in his stomach. What had he done? That scream of pain had sounded horrifying.

As Kiba and Akamaru took off sprinting towards the doors to the ninja academy, the entire class broke out in conversation, whispering to each other and turning around to glare in Naruto's direction.

His view no longer obstructed, Naruto caught sight of Sakura lying on the ground, spitting blood out of her mouth while Iruka sensei kept his grip on a shuriken that was sticking out of her left shoulder.

Nervously biting on his nails, he started forward and cried, "Sakura! Are you okay? I'm so so-"

Before he could get any further, a kid with shoulder length black hair, green headband and glasses blocked his way and shoved him roughly to the ground.

"Look what you did!" he spat, gesturing to Saukra's shoulder. "Why are you even alive? All you do is hurt people!"

"Yeah!" a boy next to him wearing a grey hat nodded vigorously in agreement. "You should just leave. No one likes you!"

"It was an accident! I would never hurt someone!" Naruto cried frantically, tugging on his goggles nervously.

"I can't believe you stabbed her!" Ino shrieked wildly, making everyone within a ten foot radius of her cover their ears at the sound of her high-pitched voice.

Naruto took a few steps backward, a look of bitter regret on his face, and ran back to the ninja academy, wiping his face with his sleeve.

Sasuke, who had been standing by himself near the doors that led back to the classroom, glanced over his shoulder as Naruto sprinted by him clumsily and entered the building. He almost felt bad for Naruto, until he remembered the way he constantly called Sasuke arrogant and tried to outdo him. Shaking his head, Sasuke looked back at Sakura, wishing Itachi was here. He always knew what to do.

"Everyone stop yelling at Naruto and get back to class, okay?" Iruka sensei told the class.

Sakura winced from the pain, clutching Iruka's hand in hers, and tried using his arm to stand up. Her seven year old body not being able to handle the pressure, she collapsed.

"Please, don't try to move, you'll only injure yourself further," Iruka said gently, trying to steady her body.

Everything was going wrong! She knew she'd be alright; the shuriken wasn't buried that deep in her skin. In fact, she could probably remove it and heal herself right now if everyone wasn't standing around her. Hearing the awful words people were saying to Naruto, she desperately wanted to yell at them and rip out the stupid shuriken to prove she was alright, but from the amount of blood she was losing, she felt so dizzy and lightheaded that it was difficult to even think straight.

"Don't worry Sakura," Shikamaru said, appearing by her side and bent down close next to her. "The medical-nin is here."

"No, I'm fine," she tried to say as a tall woman with short brown hair started tending to her wound immediately, Kiba at the her heels. He exchanged worried glances with Hinata and Choji who were standing close by, making sure Sakura was going to be alright.

"My name is Akane. Don't worry, I'll take care of this quickly," the medical-nin smiled reassuringly, extracting the shuriken from Sakura's shoulder so fast she didn't even know she had pulled it out until Akane tossed the bloody shuriken to the side.

Akane put her hands on Sakura's stomach and soon their was a plethora of green chakra illuminating from her hands. Sakura recognized this as the Mystical Palm Technique, a medical ninjutsu which allows the user to speed up the body's natural healing process by sending chakra from their hands into a wound or afflicted body part.

Soon the pressure in her head disappeared and, glancing down at her shoulder, the wound was gone. Assuming the adults might think it was weird if a seven year old were to stand up and brush the whole situation off lightly, Sakura sniffled and let a few tears roll down her cheeks as turned to Akane and cried, "Thank you so much!"

Akane smiled and nodded her head politely saying, "Don't worry it's my job. I'm glad to see that you healed quickly. Be careful around that boy. He's dangerous."

"Whoah! So you're really okay!" Kiba asked after Akane packed her medical-nin kit up and walked away, his eyes widening in shock when he noticed there wasn't even a scratch on Sakura's shoulder.

"Yes! I'm okay!" Sakura squealed happily, grabbing Kiba by the cuff of his shirt and pulling him into her arms on the spur of the moment.

"Well, I'm glad you're okay," Kiba grinned sheepishly, patting her on the back awkwardly while Shikamaru and Choji silently laughed at the pair of them behind Sakura's back.

Suddenly realizing she needed to find Naruto, Sakura let go of Kiba and turned to face Iruka sensei.

"Iruka sensei! Where's Naruto?"

"Naruto?" Iruka sensei questioned. That was the last thing he was expecting to hear come out of her mouth. "I'd assume he's back in the room with the rest of the class, but I'd advise you not to say anything-"

"I don't want to hear an apology from him," Sakura interrupted, "I don't care. I need to talk to him."

"Oh? Well okay then. You can talk to him after class if you like. Come on guys, we still have a half hour left. We'll continue the lesson with notes instead." Gesturing for them to start walking, he kept a short distance behind the five ninja in training as he thought about what to do concerning Naruto. It was only his first day as teacher and already Naruto was proving difficult to handle.

"Why do you want to talk to _him_?" Shikamaru asked Sakura as they walked back to class, raising an eyebrow, his hands in his pockets like usual. "He just injured you!"

"I bet he'll get scolded when we get back to class!" Choji said, smiling at the thought of Naruto getting in trouble on the first day of school.

"He said it was an accident," Hinata mumbled, unsure of whether it was her place or not to remind Sakura of this.

"One day, I'm going to really hurt that kid!" Kiba growled menacingly, clenching his fist and shaking it in the air.

Sakura bit her lip nervously, wondering how in the world she was going to change this situation.

"Actually, I was thinking of inviting Naruto to hang with us," she said, expecting them all to burst out with protests. And sure enough, they did.

"You've got to be kidding me! My mom would kill me if he came over my house."

"Sakura, have you gone crazy?"

"He's just gonna end up killing all of us if we let him near us around weapons! Besides, Akamaru doesn't like him."

"Hinata, what's your thoughts on this?" Sakura tilted her head glancing at the shy girl.

Fumbling her hands together, Hinata blushed bright red, her eyes looking nervously at everyone, unsure of who to side with.

Sakura frowned, thinking Hinata probably didn't want to come out and say it when she had three guys glaring at her waiting for an answer.

"Well, no matter what you guys say I'm inviting him anyways," Sakura said stubbornly, stopping in front of the door to the classroom. "I was going to even before he hurt me"

"But why? No one likes him!" Choji complained.

"How would you feel if you were an outcast and the whole village hated you?"

Choji went to answer her but stopped when he couldn't think of anything.

"Exactly."

Iruka didn't know what to make of the conversation he had just overheard. What Choji had said was the truth. There weren't many people in the village who openly liked the boy who carried the nine tails inside his body. But this little girl, who had just been more or less stabbed by Naruto, was willing to be friends with him. It was...interesting. And a little suspicious. He decided to keep a close eye on the girl.

When Sakura walked through the classroom doorway, she noticed Naruto had retreated to the back of the room, and sat slumped in his desk, surrounded by no one.

A few kids who were sitting a couple of seats away kept throwing random insults at him and snickering, while Naruto turned away and ignored them.

"Actually, I don't want to wait until after class," Sakura said, and walked away without listening to what anyone else had to say.

Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Naruto looked up and gaped in amazement when he saw Sakura's smiling face in front of him.

"Why-why are you here?" For once, he was at a loss of words.

"Listen, I know it was an accident so don't even worry about the shuriken. Look," she said gesturing to her shoulder, "I'm all healed!"

Naruto hung his head in shame. "I really am sorry. I just wanted to show everyone what I could do, but I guess," he paused, "I guess I slipped."

"Don't worry about it! Anyways, do you want to come over to Shikamaru's house tomorrow? We all want to hangout together!" Sakura asked brightly.

Glancing over at Shikamaru, Kiba, and Choji, Naruto rolled his eyes and muttered, "Yeah right. There's no way they want me there. No one does."

"I do," she stated firmly. "So does Hinata. And you know, speaking of Hinata, she's very shy and needs someone to give her the strength to train hard to become really strong one day. I've seen the way you never give up. You'd be a good role model for her!"

Naruto perked up and tilted his head to stare at the reserved girl. "You really think so?" A wide grin broke out across his face. "Okay, I accept!"

Waving the rest of the group over, Sakura felt her heart leap. She was on her way to changing the timeline for the better. She knew she had won Naruto over. He already looked happier than she could ever remember seeing him as a little kid. Now to befriend Sasuke.

Shikamaru took a seat next to Naruto and turned to face him "So I guess you're coming to my house too then?"

"Yeah! We should play ninja!" Naruto said, happy that he finally had some friends to play with.

"How troublesome. I don't know how my mom's going to feel about all these kids at her house," Shikamaru groaned, thinking about his uptight and bossy mother, wondering why the heck his father would marry a woman like her in the first place.

"You worry too much Shikamaru. And I'll play as long as I'm not it. I'm always it!" complained Choji.

"We need another person!" Kiba spoke up, looking around the room, sizing people up, wondering if any of them would want to play too.

_'Perfect timing Kiba,'_ Sakura thought smiling to herself.

"How about Sasuke?" she offered.

"The Uchiha?" both Shikamaru and Kiba asked, wondering if Sakura was indeed crazy.

"Ah not that arrogant prick!" Naruto glanced at Sasuke, who was currently drawing some kind of picture in his notebook.

"Uchiha's dont get along with anyone," Choji said. "They only stick with their clan. My dad told me so it must be true!"

"Well, it doesn't hurt to ask," Sakura replied, getting up from the seat on the other side of Naruto.

Shikamaru slapped his hand to his face and grumbled, "Girls are so troublesome."

Sasuke tore his eyes away from the drawing he was making when he noticed he had a visitor.

_'I hope it's not one of those annoying girls,_' he thought shaking his head.

No. It was that girl with pink hair. The one who got hurt. She hadn't bothered him once yet so she must be alright. But was that really her natural hair color?

"Can I help you?" he asked politely, shoving the notebook in his bag, but not before she got a glimpse of his drawing. Him riding a dinosaur. Or maybe it was a dragon. She laughed.

Sakura's heart was beating incredibly fast. She was tempted to hug him and never let go because he wasn't an avenger, only an innocent child right now. But if she didn't make a move to stop the massacre now, he might still grow to become consumed by hatred and revenge. But how could she stop the slaughter of his clan? And how could she stop a war from breaking out if that happened?

"Me, Choji, Shikamaru, Kiba, Hinata, and Naruto are gonna train tomorrow. Well, actually, we're probably gonna end up playing a game of ninja instead, but we might get around to practicing punches or something. Do you want to come?"

Sasuke didn't know what to say. Even though he had been top of their class ever since primary school, and everyone seemed to admire his skills, no one had once invited him to play or train. He was always asking Itachi or his father to train with him but they always replied with, "I'm too busy."

"Sure!" he said, his face lighting up, not even caring that she had mentioned Naruto, the boy adults told him not to associate with. "We should definitely train though too. I want to be better than my brother one day. Training is really important!"

Wow. She didn't expect him to so readily agree like that. Sakura didn't even know what to think except that she had wished she had did this in her last life.

"Alright! It'll be even more fun if we train together. Make sure you ask your parents because we're planning on tomorrow!"

Sasuke's face fell when he realized his dad probably wouldn't approve. '_Whatever, I don't care. Father and Itachi are both always too busy. They never have time for me. I can make friends if I want to_,' he thought, determined to hang out with them no matter what.


	5. Chapter 5

Sasuke fidgeted nervously from behind a door, straining to hear the voices of Itachi and his father, who were currently in the midst of another argument.

"What do you mean you can't participate in the assembly? I don't think you understand the importance of your position," he heard his father say, his voice rising in anger.

"I have a mission tomorrow. As an ANBU black ops agent I must go."

"What are you talking about? What mission?"

"I can't tell you. The mission is covert." Sasuke frowned. Of course Itachi couldn't tell him. The ANBU weren't allowed to speak of their missions. His father should know better than that. But why was he asking in the first place?

There was a long pause before his father spoke again."You remember your duty is to infiltrate the ANBU and pass back information to our clan right?"

"Yes."

"Then it would be best if you didn't forget that. You will do as I say and you will be at the meeting tomorrow."

"I can't promise anything."

His father replied with an indignant grunt but said nothing. Sasuke figured he must be so angry he didn't even know what to say. Imagining his father's trademark scowl was enough to make him squirm. Sasuke absolutely hated to disappoint him. It's all he ever seemed to do. He could never live up to Itachi's standards like his father wanted him to. No amount of hard work and skill could sway the head Uchiha's mind.

However, his father hasn't praised Itachi like he used to lately. A few weeks ago Itachi started acting...different. Meal times were the only time Sasuke ever saw him, and even then Itachi hardly said anything except to ask Sasuke how he was or if he's been training.

Coming back to reality, Sasuke heard the sounds of someone's clothes scratching against the ground and realized Itachi must have been dismissed. That meant he was certain to find him out in the hallway eavesdropping on their conference.

Cautiously tiptoeing towards his bedroom door, Sasuke froze where he stood when he felt an alarmingly powerful presence radiating from behind him. There had been no noise to warn him of this sudden shift in events, but he knew who it was.

"Sasuke, what are you doing? It's not your place to listen into these conversations."

Eyes widening at the fact he had been caught, Sasuke slowly turned around to face his older brother with his eyebrows low and his head hung in shame. "How did you know I was here?"

Ignoring the question, Itachi stared past his little brother, deep in thought, and replied, "You should go to bed."

Curiosity got the better of him when he blurted out, "Wait, what was father talking about? What's infiltrate mean?"

"It's nothing that concerns you, Sasuke. But you should be in bed at this hour. It's late," Itachi said more gently this time, putting his hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

Sasuke frowned, hating when Itachi beat around the bush.

"Yeah, whatever," he grumbled, knocking Itachi's hand aside in frustration. Sasuke brushed past him to walk back to his bedroom where he would undoubtedly stay up the next couple of hours thinking about what he just overheard.

At breakfast the next morning Sasuke sat slumped over in his seat, trying not to fall asleep, and kept yawning repeatedly. Sleep deprivation never did him any favors.

"Sit properly when you eat," his father snapped at him, causing Sasuke to jolt upright.

"Yes sir," he quietly replied, jabbing a tomato rather violently with his fork to vent out his feelings.

Itachi shot Sasuke a look of pity which Sasuke completely disregarded, still upset that Itachi refused to tell him anything. Sometimes he felt like he didn't even know his older brother anymore.

Mikoto, his mother, quickly noticed Sasuke's unusual behavior, set her cup of tea down and asked, "Sweetie, is there something bothering you?"

His face contorting with disgust, Sasuke moaned, "Please don't call me that mom. And no, I'm fine."

Just as Mikoto was about to reply, Itachi stood up from the table, having barely touched his plate of food, and started walking towards the front door.

Sighing, Mikoto turned around to face the retreating Itachi and said, "I know you're busy with work but can't you eat with your family at least once in awhile? You just sat down."

"As I told you before, I have a mission I must attend to. Don't expect me home for the next few nights," Itachi replied while pulling on his boots, not bothering to look back.

Sasuke muttered unintelligible words under his breath as Itachi walked out the door without saying goodbye. He had hoped to ask him when the next time they would train together would be, but as of right now, the chances of that happening in the near future seemed rather slim. The next best hope was his father.

"Father," Sasuke started to say timidly, "could you teach me how to do the fire ball jutsu again?"

Staring down at his untouched bowl of food, Fugaku's eyes narrowed and he muttered, "I have a lot on my mind right now Sasuke."

Without thinking, Sasuke asked, "Is it Itachi?" Suddenly realizing what he just said, he glanced nervously back at his father, ready to be yelled at.

Gripping a spoon tightly in his hand, his brows furrowed, Fugaku slowly looked up at his youngest son and said, "I will say one thing. Walk your own path from now on, not in the footsteps of your brother."

Noticing the way his father 's voice faltered on the word 'brother', Sasuke couldn't stop the grin from forming on his face. He couldn't believe it. Maybe Itachi wasn't number one after all. At least not in his fathers eyes.

Sasuke waited until his father left the table and disappeared through a door to ask his mother about Sakura's invitation. He didn't want to risk his chances by asking his father because he still appeared to be moody and sour after last night's disagreement. Besides, his mother was more lenient anyways.

"Is it okay if I go to my friend's house today after school?" he asked while she dried the dishes, using the word 'friend' loosely as he was unsure if he could really consider these people friends yet. Turning around to look at him, eyebrows raised, a towel and plate still in hand, she replied, "Oh, who's house? It's not Masato is it?"

Masato Uchiha lived just down the street and consistently badgered Sasuke to play with him. His idea of fun was to try to sneak into clan meetings and cause trouble anyway he can. His mother felt bad for the kid as his parents were always wrapped up in clan business and his only sister died when the nine tails attacked. She used to encourage Sasuke to hang with him and be his friend in hopes that he'll mature a little and stop playing pranks on everyone. But she knew how Sasuke loathed the boy. Curiosity overcame her though when Sasuke mentioned going to a friend's house. She rarely saw him interact with other children of the clan. Except for Itachi of course.

Sasuke shook his head in disgust when she brought up Masato. He thought Masato, born as an Uchiha, should have more respect than that. Plus, the boy irritated him to no end what with his constant whining and complaining.

"No, that kid is trouble. Even father agrees. It's Shikamaru's house. Shikamaru Nara. My other friends from class will be there too. I think we're all going to train together or something."

Mikoto sighed, positioning her body so she faced the window. Gazing out into the streets of the Uchiha compound, she watched as a few children and a man carrying scrolls walked by, her thoughts on what Fugako's reaction would be to Sasuke's question.

The Uchiha clan was not on the best terms with the village at the moment. Sasuke becoming friends with the parents of those who scorned their clan probably wasn't the best idea, but she saw the way his eyes lit up when he asked her. She couldn't deny him that. Every child needed a friend.

She smiled down at her son. "Alright Sasuke. Just make sure you get home for dinner okay?"

Beaming up at his mother Sasuke exclaimed, "Wow thanks mom! Don't worry I will." Finishing his breakfast, he left the dirty plate lying where it was and grabbed his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder.

"Bye mom!" he waved from the doorway, a huge grin on his face.

"Don't forget your lunch!" Laughing, Mikoto grabbed a brown bag from the counter and tossed it to Sasuke who caught it in his hands, looking down at it with confusion. "And Sasuke, there's more to life than training. Make sure you guys have some fun too. I know that's not _all_ they teach you at the Academy."

"Oh right. Thanks mom! Bye!" With those words he walked out the door excited for school.

* * *

><p><strong>After school and a<strong>**t Shikamaru's Front Door**

Shoving Kiba with her elbow so she could enter the house first, Sakura stopped walking abruptly when a picture hanging on the wall next to the front door caught her interest.

"Check this out!" she exclaimed, waving the others over as she leaned in closer to get a better look at the people in the photo.

"I know right? Man, I am so good looking, aren't I?" she heard Kiba say from behind her. Pretending to gag in disgust, she turned around and took a gander at Kiba smiling at himself in a mirror, situated directly across from the front door.

Within the next split second, Sakura watched confused as Kiba suddenly went flying into the ground, landing with a sickening thud. In his place stood a beaming Naruto, wearing a dopey grin upon his face proudly as he pointed to himself arrogantly. "No way Kiba! All the girls will want guys like me. I'm going to be the Hokage one day. Strong and powerful. Believe it!"

_'And he calls me conceited?'_ Sasuke thought through clenched teeth, gazing at Naruto with a hard expression on his face.

"Uhh...what was that for...?" Kiba moaned from his new spot on the hard wood floor.

"Sorry," Naruto replied, flashing Kiba his signature smile and sticking one arm behind his head sheepishly. "Guess I got carried away there."

"I can't believe you invited these troublesome people over to my house," Shikamaru muttered to Sakura while Choji shook his head laughing and Hinata held a finger up to her mouth smiling. Lagging behind everyone lingered Sasuke, tugging at the hem of his shirt and looking uncomfortable.

Sasuke always remained cool and collected when it came to taking tests or performing his skills in front of a class, but now, standing in someone's house who wasn't an Uchiha, he felt...awkward. He debated with himself on what to say to keep the conversation going, but he couldn't think of anything that fit the moment, so he kept his mouth shut.

Rolling her eyes at the situation, Sakura directed everyone's attention back to the photograph by saying, "Aw, Shikamaru, you were so cute as a little kid. How old are you here?"

Using Naruto's leg to pull himself up, Kiba brushed himself off, glanced at the picture and snickered.

A two year old Shikamaru sitting in a swing gazed irritably at them from the photo. Behind him stood a man with two ragged scars on the left side of his face, pierced ears, and black hair tied up in a spiky ponytail. His outward appearance gave off a rather intimidating and fierce look but his facial features told otherwise. A special light gleamed within his dark eyes and the smile on his face was so wide that laugh lines materialized on his cheeks and in the corners of his eyes. He gripped Shikamaru's seat with one hand, ready to push him higher even though the boy clearly had no interest in the activity.

"Oh yeah, real handsome. Nice face," Kiba smirked, squinting his eyes and pouting his mouth, trying to mimic Shikamaru's irritated expression.

Everyone started laughing, except Shikamaru, and headed towards the kitchen where Choji happened to be rummaging through Shikamaru's fridge.

Shikamaru clapped his hand to his forehead and closed his eyes. "Choji! Get out of my fridge! You know my mom will find out and kill me!"

Choji's face fell and he shut the door to the fridge, knowing when his best friend was serious. That didn't stop him from complaining though. "But Shikamaru! I'm so hungry. If this was my house my mom would have made us a feast!"

"That's because your mom is nice," Shikamaru pointed out.

"I'm hungry too," Naruto whined, clutching his stomach, faking a sad face.

Sasuke reached into his bag and pulled out the dango he hadn't eaten at lunch. Holding it out to Naruto he offered, "You can have this if you want. My mom always packs me these even when she knows I don't like them. I don't like unhealthy food. It tastes gross."

Naruto's face instantly lit up and he took the dango out of Sasuke's hand, popped it in his mouth, and grinned at the wonderful flavor.

"You're an okay guy after all!" Naruto exclaimed, patting Sasuke on the back a little too hard.

Sasuke opened his mouth in shock and pretended to wince in pain. Then he smirked and punched Naruto in the shoulder playfully.

Gaining confidence he said, "Well what do you expect?. I'm an Uchiha! And one day I'm going to be the leader of the Konoha Police Force!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Naruto muttered waving his hand carelessly. "Well I'm going to be the Hokage one day! That's way cooler than being whatever it is you said!"

Sakura rolled her eyes at their behavior but started laughing anyway. If only the Naruto and Sasuke from her time could see them now.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Why would you want to be the Hokage? All he does is sit in his office doing boring stuff. I'm going to train hard everyday and become the strongest shinobi ever." He also couldn't help but think how one day he would hopefully surpass Itachi in abilities.

"Psh, you clearly have no idea what you're talking about. Just watch. I'm going to be the greatest Hokage ever! I'll be way stronger than _you._"

"Actually, that will be me," Kiba interrupted them, pointing at himself arrogantly.

"Oh yeah?" Naruto challenged him with a smile, crouching into a fighting position.

"Let's see if you're all talk and no show like I bet you are," Kiba grinned, flashing his canine like teeth. "What about you Uchiha?".

"Obviously," Sasuke said. "I'm from the Uchiha clan, remember? We're all born great."

"Please, give me a break," Naruto said with a flick of his hand.

"Hey Sakura? You want to come too? We could fight on teams or have it be every man for himself," Kiba shouted through cupped hands as if she was far away or something, when in reality she happened to be a few feet away.

Sakura thought it sounded like fun but decided she would much rather let the three of them have some bonding time together, especially since she was trying her hardest not to get to close to them. Not after what she planned to do.

"As much as I'd love to beat you guys up, what about Hinata?" she offered, gesturing towards the shy girl standing next to Choji.

Naruto froze for a second, then remembered this was the girl who Sakura said could use someone like him to motivate her. "Hey, yeah! Hinata, you can be on my team!" Naruto grinned and waved his hands excitedly through the air. "Hey, why are you being so quiet? You okay? Don't you want to play?"

"Want to be on my team?" Kiba asked, turning to Sasuke.

"Yeah sure," Sasuke grinned in response, eager to play against the annoying and loud-mouthed blonde.

Shikamaru predicted within the next few seconds Choji would ask him the same thing. Sure enough, it happened.

"That game is such a drag," he complained lazily, stretching his arms behind his head and yawning. "Wouldn't you guys rather sit back and do nothing?"

"No," six voices answered back.

"So troubesome," Shikamaru muttered under his breath. "Whatever. Sure. I'm in."

For the rest of the afternoon, the seven children played ninja, alternating teams every so often. By the end of the day, everyone was exhausted, dirty, and looking forward to going home to eat dinner.

Shikamaru and his dad, who had been shocked to find all these little kids running around his yard when he came home, walked them to the door to walk them out. "Bye guys. See you tomorrow!"

They all responded "Bye!" in return and left to head to their respective houses, or in Naruto's case, his apartment.

Hinata's clan was on the same path that led to Sakura's house so they decided to walk together.

Sakura noticed Hinata seemed lost in her thoughts as she was hardly replying to anything she was saying. She had a smile on her face which made Sakura very curious.

"What are you thinking about Hinata?"

"I think my dad would be proud of me. Playing with you guys is fun. It's like training almost. And I never even like it before." Hinata smiled.

"How come you didn't like it before?" Sakura asked, thoroughly intrigued. They were good friends in the future yet they hadn't conversed about sensitive topics very often. Unless it had been about Sasuke or Naruto or something in that genre.

Hinata hesistated for a moment before saying,"Well, I-I don't like to hurt people, and my dad expected so much out of me. I feel like I've let him down with how weak I am."

Wow. Hinata was really opening up. Unusual behavior for her.

"So do you actually want to get stronger? Or are you only doing this to prove to your dad you can do it? No one should be forced to take part in things they don't want to do. If you don't want to be a ninja you don't have to be," Sakura said wondering if her father really had forced this upon her.

"Well I'm not really sure. But Naruto told me he'll start training with me more often. And I have the rest of you guys to practice with."

"So, what do you think of Naruto anyway?"

Hinata smiled. "I think he's really nice. I don't get why people don't want me to go near him. He once saved me from these man boys. And I didn't even get to say thank you..."

"Yeah I agree. The adults in this town are weird. I'll admit he can be kind of annoying and act up a lot but I think it's because he didn't have any friends before. And don't worry. He'll definitely help you improve. He seems the type of guy to stick to his word!" Sakura said.

"In a few weeks, maybe I'll even work up enough courage to show my dad how I've improved. Well, if I've improved..." her voice trailed off and she her trademark worried look appeared on her face.

Sakura felt a wave of pity engulf her, knowing full well the one thing Hinata wanted this world was approval and recognition from her father. But he wasn't the only one. Naruto and Neji were on her list too.

Speaking of Neji, Sakura needed to steer this conversation towards him as she recalled how awful he had treated everyone when they first met at the chunin exams. And those things he had said. His words stuck in her mind clearly, '_We are who we are and we must live with it_.' What bullshit! Obviously that wasn't true. Just look at Naruto! Well, the Naruto from the future anyway. And he had called Hinata an outcast. His attitude had to be changed before it really became a problem.

Through clenched teeth Sakura asked,"He's not the only one you want to impress, is he?"

Hinata's eyes widened and she started to walk slower."Yes, well-no, you see, I have a cousin and he doesn't like me very much. He thinks I'm weak. He's told me before. And he's right. But I'm not going to be like that anymore. I really do want get stronger. I just need to keep training."

It filled Sakura with relief to see how much Hinata had already changed. Of course, the events that took place in her life at this time during Sakura's original timeline could have been what influenced her to become really shy and gentle by the time she was twelve. "I think that's a great attitude. Why don't you invite him to come hang with us sometime?"

Hinata shook her head."I don't think he'd say yes. You see, he's from the lower branch of the Hyuuga clan while I'm from the main branch. He doesn't really like my family very much I think. Besides, Neji would probably find it a waste of time to train with us."

Sakura gave her a reassuring smile and put her hand on Hinata's shoulder. "All the more reason to bring him along. He's going to grow up to be a real jerk if he believes that. Well, can you at least try to ask him? If he says no then you can tell him I'll walk straight to his house, drag him out and force him to come with us."

Laughing, Hinata replied, "I'll see what I can do. But I might need your help."

Sakura flashed her a huge smile and clapped her on the back. "That's what friends are for!"

After she bade goodbye to Hinata, Sakura took the long way home, reliving the good memories of that day. She laughing remembering a particularly funny moment when Akamaru had chased Naruto up a tree and Sasuke and Kiba had pretended to be shinobi saving a citizen in need (Naruto).

Out of nowhere, a loud crack ripped through the air, bringing Sakura out of her thoughts and startling her into falling flat on her feet

"Having fun?" She heard a strange yet familiar voice say.

Shaking off her momentary confusion, she looked up to find Olivier grinning down at her from atop a fence, his blonde curls gleaming in the sunlight.

"Olivier?" she asked incredulously. He was the last person she was expecting to see! "What are you doing here?"

Raising his eyebrows in amusement he said, "Well, I said I'd be watching you now didn't I?"

"Ugh," Sakura groaned, slapping her forehead. "Now you just sound like Pervy Sage."

"I presume you've met all your old friends again-"

"No. Not all of them. I had a ton of friends from other villages! Like Gaara," Sakura interrupted.

"Oh that's right," Olivier said, tapping his mouth. "But dear me, if I recall correctly you wrote on your list Gaara's name. Do you still wish to help him? I see you haven't made any effort."

"It's been two days," Sakura growled, ready to throw a large and heavy object at this guy. "Of course I'm going to help

him. I won't let him be treated like scum by his village."

Olivier pretended to stroke his chin thoughtfully an said, "But what about your friends from your own village? Surely you can't have accomplished much in only two days."

"I already told you. I have a plan. In fact, I'm leaving the village soon," Sakura replied with confidence.

"Ah yes. I understand," he said, still pretending to be in deep thought.

"So why did you come here anyways?" Sakura questioned, staring him in the eye, wanting to know an answer.

"Oh I just came with a warning."

"Warning?" Now she was confused.

"Yes," Olivier replied without emotion. "You're being watched. By a member from the Uchiha clan. That is all."

With another loud crack and a flash of bright light, Olivier disappeared, leaving Sakura standing there unsure of what to think about this new information.


	6. Chapter 6

Sakura hesitated for a few moments, staring blankly at the spot Olivier had just vanished from. How could she have been so stupid? Someone was watching her? And from the Uchiha clan? Who could it possibly be? She felt uneasy as Itachi's face suddenly loomed in the back of her mind.

When she had first arrived back in Konoha, it was true she hadn't stopped to give her plan much thought. She had only acted, impulsively and without thinking that her actions could arise suspicion. Granted it had only been a few days but there was no doubt in her mind that someone of her age should not be behaving as mature and intelligent as she has been. And she knew very well just how brilliant and clever Sasuke's older brother was. If he had caught sight of them training together it was all over for her. Perhaps she could fool her parents and Iruka and even the other children into believing she was just a regular girl but there was no convincing Itachi.

She couldn't reveal that she had come from the future. It was against the set list of rules Olivier had given her. But how else could she explain why she seemed to know everything about everyone and why she acted far beyond her years. Sakura shook her head. Maybe Itachi wasn't even watching her and she was simply acting paranoid. None of that mattered now. She still had people who needed her help. Putting Itachi out of her thoughts for now, she turned and rushed back towards her house.

It was only then that she had remembered her promise of helping Gaara, and she thought of how desperately she wanted to prevent him from suffering of loneliness and hatred throughout his entire childhood. She couldn't let him suffer like that. Not again. No one should ever have live life believing not one person in the world cares for you. She would not let him become a monster who hates the world and lives only to serve himself. He would have friends.

Sakura became so lost in thought while running back towards the village she didn't see the boy in the middle of the road, and so she collided with his back which sent them both sprawling to the ground.

"Ah, I'm so terribly sorry-"Sakura started to say, eyes half closed, frowning from the taste of dirt that had entered her mouth.

"Get off me!" A somewhat familiar voice said, roughly pushing her off and she found herself on the ground again.

"Neji!"

Indeed it was a younger Neji. "How did you know my name? Explain yourself."

Sakura instinctively covered her mouth with her hand. '_Great going Sakura. Trying to keep a low profile and you go and mess up again_,' she thought bitterly.

"Oh no! It's just-" she wracked her brain trying to think up a plausible excuse,"I-I'm friends with Hinata Hyuga and you look an awful lot like her. She's mentioned she has a cousin named Neji so when I saw you I figured you were him."

From the way Neji scrutinized her it was easy to tell he wasn't buying her story.

"And why would someone like her mention my name,"he muttered angrily.

"She really looks up to you Neji. I can tell from the way she talks about you. And I've been trying to help her get stronger since she is really shy. But I can tell the person she truly wants to train with is you. Did you guys used to be close?"

"I want nothing to do with the Main Branch. Leave me alone. Her destiny is already set in stone. No amount of training will change those who are weak."

"Do you really believe that?"

He looked away from her, the scowl on his face still present. But she saw something else in his eyes. Pain.

"Fate is something that is decided at birth. I don't want to help her. She is unfit to be a ninja and will always be weak."

Sakura paused, trying to choose her words very carefully. It pained her to know Neji had these thoughts from such a young age. She didn't know the full story behind his Dad's death or what the branches of the Hyuga Clan had to do with his upbringing but she couldn't let him keep living with all these pent up emotions.

"I think you're suffering Neji. I don't know what's happened in your past but you are wrong. You can change who you are. A few years ago I used to be a whiny, useless brat who didn't know what a kunai was, but because of my training and the friendships I've made, I have definitely changed. I'm going to live and strive for my goals. You should do the same. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Neji's expression changed to a confused one as he contemplated what she said. After a few minutes he opened his mouth to reply but when he looked up she had already left. He never even found out her name. Perhaps the death of his father had put him through much more suffering than he should have let it.

He bent down to pick up the kunai that had fallen from his pocket when the pink haired girl crashed into him. Noticing for the first time a lake had been next to him the entire time he slowly walked over to the boardwalk and sat down, frowning when he saw his reflection gazing back at him in the water. He eyed the cursed seal he had been branded with as a small child and splashed the water violently with his hand so he wouldn't have to look at it.

"Father...," he spoke aloud, his voice wavering, "I don't know what to believe anymore."

When Sakura finally reached her house, panting and out of breath, still not entirely used to this small body- she collapsed on the couch and lay there for what seemed like forever until her mom called her to dinner.

"What's wrong Sakura? You seem exhausted today. Are they working you hard at the academy?"

"Not really. Well, I mean yes. It's just my friends and I trained for awhile today. So I'm a little tired."

"It makes me happy to hear you've made so many friends. That's my girl," her father grinned, making Sakura feel embarrass but at the same time grateful her parents were still alive. This time together with them meant so much but they had not been the reason she had come back. There was still so much she had to do. Yet she still couldn't think of a reasonable way to get to the sand village in order to help Gaara. She couldn't even remember if the Leaf and Sand were even on good terms at this moment.

But that wasn't the biggest problem. She couldn't just leave. Her parents would obviously know she was missing and put out a request. And if she also didn't show up at the academy that would be another problem. Sighing in frustration, she rested her head down on the table. Gratefully her parents didn't noticed anything was wrong as they continued to talk about their day to day activities.

She couldn't wait until the Chunin exams to help Gaara. It wouldn't be impossible to help him change his ways but it would be extremely difficulty. And even then only Naruto was the one who had gotten through to him. But she still couldn't let him suffer another five years by himself. Sakura could never possibly imagine what he had gone through but dammit she would do anything to protect her friends.

Getting up she headed for the front door.

"Sakura where are you going? You need to go to bed soon!"

"Don't worry about me mom, I'm just going for a short walk. It helps me think." Without waiting for an answer she ran out the door forgetting to put on a sweatshirt.

Sakura's mother shook her head sadly, " It's nice to see Sakura making friends and having fun but she's been acting so strange lately. She's so serious all the time."

"Maybe we should take her on a vacation so she can let loose for real and have some fun," her Dad suggested, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

Back outside, Sakura was pacing back and forth in front of her parents garden, completely oblivious to the outside world. All this planning to leave the village without getting caught was such a heavy weight on her chest. She thought of many ways to go about putting a plan into action but she was clever enough to know they'd all end badly.

A sudden chill came over her body and she sensed someone else's presence. Instinctively she grabbed a shuriken and looked around, "Who's there? Show yourself!"

"Sakura Haruno."

The hair's on the back of Sakura's neck stood up as she caught sight of pair of bright red Sharingan eyes looking right at her.


	7. Chapter 7

**Enjoy the story!**

* * *

><p>"Itachi," Sakura gasped before tripping backwards over her own feet out of pure shock. Why had he followed her to her house? A million thoughts played around in her head as lighthearted chuckle reached her ears, yet she couldn't fathom why Itachi hadn't started interrogating her right away. She remembered him as someone who wasted no time in prying information from people. Sakura knew she had nothing to be worried about in terms of him hurting her, as he was actually a pacifist who had protected Konoha by killing off his own clan before they could overthrow the village in her last life, but still—she feared he would find out the truth about her, thus ruining her plans to change history for the better. If there were ever anyone she would tell about her being from the future, oddly enough her first choice would have been Itachi. Especially if it meant finding a way to prevent the massacre of the entire Uchiha clan.<p>

Unfortunately, Olivier's first rule required her to never tell anyone her time traveling secret. She did not trust Olivier, but she obeyed his orders just in case she really did disappear. No doubt the devious bastard was impatiently waiting for her to screw up so he could interfere and do who knows what. Possibly hurt someone she loves. And all for his own sick entertainment. Grimacing in disgust, Sakura pulled herself out of her thoughts and back to reality.

Sakura slowly wrapped a hand around another shuriken, ready to spring to her feet at any moment in case he dared to try anything. Of course, she could already be trapped in his genjutsu this very instant and not even be aware of it. Sakura hoped that wasn't the case. She couldn't recall seeing a hand signal. She didn't think Itachi would do anything other than question her, especially with them standing not too far away from her house, but she kept a hand placed on the weapon in her pocket anyway, ready to wield it at a moments notice.

But as the Sharingan user finally stepped forward and out of the shadows, the moon illuminating their face, she realized the person standing mere feet away was not Itachi at all. Without lowering her guard, she walked a few inches closer to get a better look. He wore the standard attire of the Uchiha clan, however, he had short, unkempt dark colored hair and a relatively broad nose—quite the opposite of Itachi's well groomed appearance and delicate facial features. Not to mention, he looked a little older than the age Itachi should be right now. Unable to contain her curiosity any longer Sakura burst out, "Who are you and how do you know my name?"

The mysterious boy let out an amused chuckle, confusing her even more."Now why would you think I was Itachi little girl?"

"It-it's just, I'm friends with Sasuke Uchiha! And he's mentioned his older brother Itachi. And you have the Sharingan!So I just...I don't know, sort of assumed you were him..." her voice trailed off, reminding her of a few hours before when she gave the same excuse to Neji.

"Oh I know you two are friends. I was watching you and your little gang earlier. You're a very peculiar girl."

Sakura's fist clenched. "I'll ask again. Who are you? If you don't tell me I'll yell and scream. My parents will come running!"

"Whoah whoah, take an easy there," the older boy grinned sheepishly, raising his hands in defense, hoping to calm her down. "My name is Shisui Uchiha. I'm actually best friends with Itachi. He always asks me to keep an eye on his younger brother when he goes on extended missions with the ANBU. Although I must say, it took me a little longer to find Sasuke today since I almost always find him in his usual training spot in the forest just south of our clan."

"So what do you want with me then?" Sakura asked, still having yet to lower her defenses. She couldn't tell what his motives were, or if he was onto her.

"Well, I don't normally stick around too long, just enough to make sure Sasuke doesn't hurt himself. Sometimes I'll give him some advice and tips since Itachi can't always be there to help him out. Actually, to be honest, Itachi's been acting rather odd lately and he hasn't given Sasuke any of his time at all. Hasn't even confided in me that much about anything..." Here Shisui paused for a few moments as if in deep thought about something.

Sakura's eyes widened and she dropped the shuriken she had been holding, which made a soft noise as it hit the ground, bringing Shisui's attention back to the little girl with pink hair standing in front of him.

"Oh, sorry," Shisui apologized, scratching his head, knowing right away he shouldn't have voiced his inner thoughts about his best friend to someone he hardly knew anything about. He sensed a high amount of intelligence radiating from her, almost on par with Itachi's own brilliance when he was her age.

Sakura kept replaying the words Shisui had said over and over again in her head. _'Itachi's been acting rather odd lately...Itachi's been acting rather odd lately...Itachi's been acting rather odd lately.' _"Oh no," she murmured aloud. Did this mean the plan to do away with the Uchiha clan had already been set in motion? Was it already too late to stop the clan from being wiped off the face of the Earth, leaving only young Sasuke to survive and to inevitably embark on his quest of revenge once again? Had Shisui been killed along with everyone else that night? How could Itachi even bring himself to kill his best friend? Even though he slaughtered his own clan for the sake of the village, how was he able to do it?

_'It must have tortured him inside,'_ Sakura thought to herself. '_I can't even begin to imagine all the pain and agony he went through. But I won't let him do it. I will stop it from happening. I won't let Sasuke and Itachi suffer through that again.'_

"Anyways," Shisui said, and she directed her attention back to the teenager. "I was quite surprised to find Sasuke training with a group of kids his age, let alone at Shikaku Nara's house. You see, us Uchiha's are, well, how do I put it?" He rubbed his chin thoughtfully and looked up at the night sky, as if the stars above could give him the words he was looking for. "My clan has always felt outcasted by the village and so they don't like to open up to the other clans, other people. They basically teach their children to stick together, to not to bother with anyone else, but instead to master their abilities and get stronger. As a whole I can say we are proud and arrogant, and unwilling to befriend others. Now, I love my clan, I really do, but it's time to put the past behind us and move to a brighter future where we can all get along."

He paused again and Sakura thought he must have mistaken the baffled look on her face as proof that she had no idea what he was telling her about. In reality, she knew exactly what Shisui referred to. She just found it hard to believe he flat out told her the truth about their clan, however, he seemed such lost in thought that it almost seemed like he was speaking more to himself than to her. She wondered if he knew of Sasuke's father's coup d'état plan.

"Look Sakura, I know you're still incredibly young and maybe you don't understand everything I'm telling you, but from what I learned after watching you kids train together is that you show a lot of promise as a shinobi. Plus, you gave Sasuke a chance to make friends with people from different clans and it is because of that reason that I trust you. I stopped by the academy afterward to ask Iruka Sensei if he had any idea how this came to be and he relayed to me how he overheard that training together was your idea and how you even included the Uzumaki boy everyone is told to stay away from."

Sakura didn't need to worry about how she worded her next few sentences because she spoke right from the heart. "I don't care what other people say about him. He only pulls pranks because everyone in the village treats him horribly. I can't stand by and watch as he grows up alone without anyone at all to love him. That wouldn't be right. Everybody needs a friend."

Shisui smiled in response and ruffled her hair. "And this is why I feel you are someone I can count on Sakura. You seem to have a way of bringing people together and I came here tonight to tell you to continue doing just that. Someone such as yourself could have a very important role in our village one day. No matter what happens, promise me you will always be there for your friends. "

"I will," she said, then added quickly, "And I promise to never give up on Sasuke or the Uchiha clan!"

"Thank you. I've been wanting to ask Iruka Sensei if there was a teaching position available at the academy. One day I'd like to have my own genin team. Maybe our paths will cross once again someday." Shisui grinned before saluting her and disappearing into the night without a trace.

As Shisui jumped from tree to tree quickly and without sound, Fugaku's plan to overthrow Konoha kept nagging at the back of his mind. He was greatly concerned with the consequences that would follow the clan's actions if they actually went through with it and wanted to prevent it all costs. Very aware of Itachi's position on the matter, Shisui considered confiding in him his own plan to stop the coup d'état. But Itachi had been very secretive lately, hardly talking to anyone, even him, and not showing up to meetings, worrying Shisui greatly and making him wonder if Itachi had a plan of his own.

As Sakura walked back to her house after her encounter with Shisui, she kicked rocks out of the way violently to let her anger out. '_Damn that Olivier,_' Sakura cursed mentally. '_So this is what he meant when he told me an Uchiha was keeping their eye on me. I had nothing to worry about the entire time! That bastard tricked me again!'_

After a short five minute walk she finally arrived back home and wearily opened the door, discarded her shoes and crawled up the stairs to get to her room.

"Sakura Haruno."

Sakura's eyes went wide as her mother's disappointed voice floated down from atop the stairs. Gulping, she looked up to find her mother standing at the top of the staircase, arms folded across her chest , wearing a frown on her face.

"Sakura, you said you were going for a _short _walk. Do you know how long it has been? I don't want you out that late at night and especially not by yourself."

"I'm sorry mom. I lost track of time. But to be honest I think I'm more capable of protecting myself than you are."

Her mother sighed, and then smiled, not being one to stay mad at her daughter for very long. "I just want you to be safe Sakura." With that, she bent down and scooped her daughter up in her arms, and carried her to her bedroom, Sakura protesting the entire way.

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><p>The next morning in class Sakura found herself being roughly shaken awake by an overexcited Kiba.<p>

"Huh? What?" Sakura asked, eyes half closed, her vision blurry and unfocused after taking a nap during class. It was rather surprising Iruka hadn't hit her over the head with a book to wake her up.

"Slacking off eh Sakura?" Shikamaru smirked without looking at her, more focused on completing the word search puzzle book open in front of him.

"What time is it? What's going on?" she asked, slumping back down in her seat, exhausted from staying up so late.

"It's lunch time!" Choji grinned, his eyes gleaming as he ran off to collect his lunchbox from his locker. Since it was lunch hour, students at the academy were either chatting animatedly and eating lunch, relaxing outside enjoying the nice weather, or they were causing trouble.

"I'm so hungry I could eat Naruto!" Kiba exclaimed, crouching down on all fours, preparing to tackle the hyperactive blonde boy to the ground. Akamaru barked happily in agreement from inside his jacket.

"Well, I'm so hungry I could eat you _and_ Sasuke!" Naruto grinned, raising his arms high above his head, as if this awkward gesture was suitable enough to defend himself from Kiba's attack.

"Well, I'm not nearly hungry enough to be so desperate as to touch either of you with a fork!" Sasuke joked as Kiba jumped on top of Naruto sending both of them crashing to the floor.

"Well, hopefully there will be enough food between all of us so that we won't have to resort to eating each other," Hinata said, sounding worried.

"But if it comes down to it," Kiba said from atop Naruto, pausing for dramatic effect, the blonde struggling beneath his grip, "every man for himself!"

"Don't worry! My mom always packs me extra and I'm willing to share," Choji reassured them good-naturedly.

Sasuke, upset that his brother had been acting distant toward him, but happy to have made some good friends, started to open his own lunch up when three girls he hardly knew approached him at the same time.

"Hi Sasuke!"

"Sasuke! Want to eat lunch with me?"

"I heard you love girls with long hair Sasuke!"

"Hey back off! I was here first!"

"No he's mine!"

The girls were so busy arguing they failed to notice as he silently slipped away, wondering why any guy in his right mind would ever like a girl. They were so weird and annoying!

"Oh Shikamaru! Shikamaru! Do you want to have lunch together?" Sasuke called.

Shikamaru unwillingly turned to look at him, a mulish expression on his face. "Ah, not this crap again."

"I made a special lunch for us to share!" Sasuke said, trying to compose himself and not burst out laughing.

"Sasuke get off me you freak!" Shikamaru spat vehemently.

"Shikamaru, promise me you'll never cut your hair!" The raven-haired boy laughed, harder than he ever had in a long, long time.

On the other side of the room, Naruto had thrown together a makeshift cape and mask and stood addressing a group of kids who weren't paying him any attention at all.

"That's right my loyal subjects! I'm going to be Hokage one day! Me! Me! Me! Bow down before me you fools! Ahahahaha."

"Not this nonsense again," Kiba muttered shaking his head. He patted on Naruto on the back solemnly. "Sorry pal, but you? Hokage? No way! But how about this. I'll be Hokage in your place."

"I think you could be Hokage one day if you really try Naruto," Hinata said, blushing and tapping two fingers together nervously.

"What?" Kiba gasped. "Hinata! What is this? And I thought we were friends!" Kiba clutchrf his stomach, staggered around for a little bit, making sure to ram into Naruto's side as he did so, then fell over on the floor and laid there staring up at the ceiling.

"Kiba! What's wrong? You're not really hurt are you?" Hinata asked, bending down to examine him.

"Ah the pain! Goodbye cruel world!" He shouted dramatically, closing his eyes and letting his limbs go limp.

Naruto stuck out his tongue. "Serves him right. You better believe it!"

Sakura, who had fully woken up after she heard Kiba fall on the floor, started shaking her head and laughing at how silly her friends were. '_If only it had been like this from the beginning_,' she thought. '_Instead of everyone keeping to themselves.'_

Someone tapped her on the shoulder and she turned around to find Sasuke holding up a dango. "Hey Sakura. I keep telling my mom _not_ to pack me these but she always does. Do you want it?"

"Yeah sure. Thanks Sasuke." At the exact moment she reached out to grab it, she felt something hard slam into her back, causing the dango to fly out of Sasuke's hand and the next thing she knew she found herself on top of him, with someone else on top of her.

"Sorry guys," she heard Kiba apologize. "Naruto is an idiot." A heavy weight lifted off her back and for the first time she realized that she and Sasuke were so close there cheeks were touching. She hesitated for a moment, her cheeks turning red, then she quickly removed herself from on top of him and Kiba helped him up. Sasuke awkwardly turned away, scratching at the back of his head, so no one would see him blushing.

At that moment, Iruka Sensei entered the class room to tell everyone they had five minutes left to eat and prepare themselves for the next lesson. Taking an opportunity to to alleviate the uncomfortable silence between her and Sasuke, she walked over to her teacher and said, "Hey Iruke Sensei, what can you tell me about the Sand Village?"

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><p>Far, far away from Konoha, a clandestine meeting was being held by a group of unknown and mysterious people.<p>

"What's the plan?" a man asked.

"To eradicate the Leaf Village of their ninja academy population."


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello again everybody! I just want to thank everyone who has read this story, whether you have reviewed, favorited or followed it~! You guys give me so much motivation! **

**I have had a recent stroke of inspiration for where this story will lead to, so I hope you all stick around to find out what that is ;)**

**So without further a due, please enjoy this chapter!**

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><p>Gaara sat alone, his favorite stuffed bear clutched tightly in his small hand, slowly swinging himself back and forth as he watched a group of kids close to his own age kick a ball around in the dirt a close distance away. He kept stealing glances at them every few minutes, the jealousy evident in his eyes.<p>

"Pass it!" a short boy with unruly blonde hair called, waving his arms in the air.

"No, over here!" shouted a girl, arms outstretched, her black hair flowing in the wind.

Their laughter reverberated throughout the playground as the ball went flying and Gaara's chest tightened, leaving him gasping, unable to place the source of his discomfort.

"Awhhh..."

"Oh crap!"

"Now what are we supposed to do?"

"I don't know. I haven't mastered climbing up walls yet..."

Looking up at the sound of their disappointed voices, he discovered the ball had gotten stuck on top of a shelf of sand. Taking this an an opportunity to join their game, he controlled some of the sand around him to fly upwards and retrieve the ball. The children's faces filled with surprise as their ball floated down from the ledge and into the arms of...him. The one their parents had warned them about. His appearance was well-known around the village and the kids instantly recognized him by his trademark black eyes rings and short, spiky auburn hair.

Gaara held the ball out in front of him without saying anything, silently hoping he would receive an invitation to play now that he had helped them. But to his shock, they all stepped backwards, frightened expressions displayed across their faces.

"You-you're that Gaara of the Sand!" one of them cried.

"My mom said he's dangerous!" another said.

"Run for it!" And they all took off in opposite directions.

"No wait! Please don't leave me alone!" Gaara pleaded in a small panicky voice as he extended his arm, thin hand grasping at air, his wide-eyed expression verging on insane."I don't want to be alone anymore!"

All of a sudden the sand surrounding him moved on its own accord as if it were alive, reeling the nearest kid in, sending her crashing to the ground and engulfing the lower half of her body.

"Ahhh! Help!" She screamed in pain as it tightened around her waist. But no one responded to her pleas. Two of the kids had successfully escaped the reach of the sand and had already exited the playground. Unfortunately, the blonde boy had not been so lucky. Backed up against a tree, cornered by a wall of sand, he had nowhere to run.

"Nooooooo!" the boy howled, sinking to his knees, hopelessly shielding his body with his arms as a natural defense, but it did not prevent the sand from enclosing around his legs.

Meanwhile, Gaara stood firmly rooted to the floor, frozen in place, not completely registering the scene taking place in front of him.

"Lord Gaara! Stop!" A soft voice rang out, "Please. You have got to control yourself! Calm down!"

Awaking from his trance, Gaara glanced up to find his Uncle Yashamaru standing in front of the boy, blocking the sand's attack. The girl lay nearby, grunting in pain, her body no longer held captive by the sand.

Immediately understanding he had almost killed them, Gaara pointedly looked down, ashamed, wanting to avoid Yashamaru's disappointed gaze.

But Yashamaru wasn't disappointed. He was sad.

Later that night, after Yashamaru had left to escort both kids to the hospital, Gaara wandered aimlessly throughout the village, lost in his own thoughts, not paying attention to his surroundings. He couldn't understand why the villagers hated and feared him as much as they did. Unbearably lonely, he longed to be liked. To have a friend. Gaara desperately tried to be friendly toward everyone, but interacting with other people only left them injured or worse. He never intended to harm anyone, but when the sand acted against his own will, inflicting pain onto others was inevitable.

Hey watch it boy!" a harsh voice broke Gaara out of his thoughts. Stopping in his tracks, he slowly turned his head to look at the man, who was accompanied by a small child.

As soon as he glimpsed Gaara's face the man instinctively recoiled.

"He-hey. You're him! You're that kid," the man stammered, his trepidation so obviously apparent in his voice Gaara could smell it.

He stared the man down, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"Why me...?" he muttered. "Why do they only look at me like that!?"

Cringing in fear, the man roughly pushed the kid out of the way as Gaara's expression became angry, his eyebrows furrowed.

Emotions raging out of control, the sand swirled around the man, completely absorbing his body within a matter of seconds. Gaara, unable to stop it, watched helplessly as the man screamed in agony, his face scrunched up in excruciating pain. A short time later, the man's body dropped down next to Gaara, limp and unmoving, his eyes lifeless and his mouth agape. The young child started crying.

Doors slammed all up and down the street as people rushed over to see what had happened.

"He's dead!" a woman yelled.

"It's _that_ kid again," a raspy voiced pointed out.

Gaara fled from the scene, sprinting the entire way home. Upon arriving, he flung open the door and ran straight into... his father, his arms crossed, eyes full of loathing. Temari and Kankuro, his older siblings, stood in the background, fear evident in their eyes. The young boy cowered under his father's look of disdain, rushed back out the door and continued running with no destination in mind, eyes brimming with tears.

~A few hours later~

Standing on a building that overlooked the entire village was Gaara, waiting in the dark. For what—he didn't know. His Dad's expression of disapproval floated through his mind and he hugged his body closer, burying his head in his knees, wishing Yashamaru was there to comfort him. But then he remembered how sad his uncle looked earlier and couldn't help but think maybe he was all alone in this world.

"...Why am I a monster? Why me...why...why is it only me...why?" he whispered, his entire body trembling as tears streamed down his face. "Why am I always so alone?"

"...what am I..."

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><p>As the days passed into weeks, Sakura saw a significant amount of change in her friends. Except for Shikamaru who was lazy as ever. In fact, his grades somehow got worse. Even in classes such as flower arranging!<p>

Naruto and Kiba, whose grades usually suffered, had seen a huge improvement. Instead of slacking off, they trained long and hard each and every day—until the sweat rolled off them like buckets, both possessing a strong determination to outdo the other. Even so, being the young children they were, the two of them continued to constantly goof off and cause trouble, randomly attacking each other during the middle of class, much to the displeasure of Iruka Sensei, or ambushing Sasuke after the school day had ended.

Choji's parents were especially happy, knowing that their son had almost always been left out of games a couple of years back. Choji and the group would often eat dinner together at his house as his parents were more than happy to prepare a hearty meal for the people who made Choji smile.

Hinata had never been happier. Apparently Neji had taken up training with her by his own accord, and she was improving so much, her father even noticed, praising both of them, causing Neji to truly smile for the first time since his father's death. Not to mention Naruto always partnered up with her during class activities, making her squeal with excitement in the inside. After hanging out with him and the others almost everyday, she no longer stuttered or blushed around the hyperactive blonde. Of course, there were moments where she reverted back to her old self, such as the time he grabbed her hand while practicing how to throw shuriken, or when he would accidentally brush up against her, or that time when all six of them hid from Iruka inside a closet and they were practically on top of each other. And even though she didn't particularly like fighting, training with her new found friends had been some of the best times of her life.

Sasuke continued to achieve high grades as well as excel at everything from hand to hand combat to kunai target hitting, however, he had been steadily growing silent and withdrawn, almost always unwilling to play or train with is friends due to the ever rising the tension within his household. However, he never took his anger out on them for he finally had special bonds with someone other than his own family, and he wasn't about to let that go. His friends were aware something was bothering him, but instead of prying into his private family matters at Shikamaru's suggestion, they tried to cheer him up by throwing random parties dedicated to him or training inhis favorite spots. Even though he didn't say anything, it meant a lot to Sasuke, and he was grateful he had met them.

Sakura had finally run into Lee one day after school, who proclaimed his love for her on the spot, causing Sasuke to twitch without realizing it while Kiba instinctively jumped on him, threatening to pummel the boy with bushy eyebrows into oblivion if he so much as thought about touching Sakura. Much to everyone's surprise, Lee instantly reversed their positions, Kiba's face landed in the dirt and Lee gave Sakura a thumbs up. Sakura could only laugh and happily invited him to feel free to hangout with them anytime while Sasuke, Kiba, and Naruto threw her suspicious looks and questioned her sanity. She had never seen Lee's face light up so fast. He proceeded to flash her his trademark smile, then bounded away on his hands proclaiming he would run around the village a hundred times before they would meet again.

In regards to the Sand Village, Iruka had been a little taken aback when Sakura had asked about it, nonetheless he told her all he knew. Sakura's face had fallen when he mentioned their villages were not on the best terms at the moment, making it difficult to travel between the two. Refusing to give up hope, Sakura had begged her parents to look into visiting Suna ever since they announced they were going on a family vacation. They couldn't promise her anything, but they said they would see what they could do.

After a long day of training, Sakura finally arrived home. She slung off her backpack and dived onto the couch, hoping to relax before her father returned home from work and pestered her to do her chores. Right as she was drifting off to sleep, her mother entered the room and lightly tapped her on the shoulders.

"Sakura! Wake up!"

"Huh? What? What is it?" Sakura asked sitting straight up, eyes blurry and unfocused.

"Well...we worked it out with the two villages. Both the Hokage and Kazekage granted us access to travel to Suna! And since the roads have been rather dangerous lately they've even given us ANBU protection! We had to pay a little extra but it's definitely worth it! I'd love to their skills in action." her mother smirked.

"Wait really!?" Sakura could barely contain her excitement! This was her chance to see Gaara!

"Yep. Although I'll never understand what made you want to go to Suna," the blonde haired woman shook her head. "Oh well. It'd be nice to get out of here. Oh, and we decided to leave in two weeks, since that's when your vacation time starts at the academy."

"Oh yeah, I forgot we had time off," Sakura mumbled. Her mother laughed and ruffled her daughter's hair.

"Since this is a birthday present, your father and I decided to allow you to bring a friend. Maybe two. Who knows."

Sakura instantly got up to hug her mother. "Thank you so much! Ah, I don't know who to bring though. Wait? ANBU? Did they say who would be taking us there?"

"Oh, well they're not usually allowed to divulge that information, but as I left the room I overheard the Hokage asking another ANBU member to get in contact with Itachi Uchiha about a new mission," her mother replied nonchalantly, leaving Sakura speechless.

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><p><strong>Tell me what you thought! And have a great day everyone. You're all awesome !<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry everyone! This took a lot longer to write than I thought it would. But it's actually a good thing because I ended up writing the next couple chapters while I was it! so I'll look over them a little bit, and post them up soon! Feel free to leave a review telling me what you thought :D**

**Oh~ and I thought I would let everyone know I have heavily revised the first few chapters in order for it to make sense and flow better. So, if you're interested, feel free to check it out! Enjoy the story~**

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><p>Itachi knelt before the Hokage and the elders, head bowed and sword slung across his back as he received his latest mission. As Sarutobi relayed the details, Itachi instantly felt his stomach twist into a knot and he looked down, his eyes reflecting his uneasiness at the situation. It just happened to be around the time the Uchiha intended to take take action against the village as well as his mission to murder the entire clan since the council had failed to reason with them.<p>

Just as Danzo started to raise a hand to disagree with the Hokage's words, his facial features growing harder by the minute, Itachi quickly glanced back up, regaining his stoic demeanor.

"I don't understand your reasoning. Why would you have _me_ escort a civilian family at this time? Especially now that the tension between my clan and the village grows worse with each passing day." He paused for a few seconds before saying, "They plan to overthrow Konoha any time now."

"I understand how you must feel on this subject but we have strong reason to believe they won't try anything without you there."

"But what if they proceed with the plan anyway?" Itachi protested, his voice starting to crack at the very thought.

The Third sighed as he lit a pipe. "You've known from the very beginning I did not want to put such an unfathomable burden on your young shoulders. Have some faith in others Itachi."

"Do you really believe there's hope? I know how my clan works, and my father's position," his voice faltered, "...hasn't changed."

"The only thing you need to worry about right now is your mission involving the Haruno family. Leave the rest to me."

Itachi, preoccupied by his own thoughts, failed to notice Danzo glaring at him and the Third Hokage the entire time.

When he returned home that night, Itachi told his father about his newest orders, knowing the sooner he told him the better.

"The time to act is now," Fugaku hissed into his ear. "Without you, we will sustain heavy losses."

"I'm sorry, but I if I disobey orders straight from the Hokage, it could be deemed suspicious," Itachi replied without emotion.

"You are the key to the entire plan. I expect you back as soon as possible. Or else we will be forced to proceed without you."

"I understand father."

Sasuke, who had been hiding behind the door eavesdropping, hoping Itachi would play with him for once, had heard everything.

* * *

><p>It was the weekend. Sakura had been running all over town the entire day, searching everywhere for the hyperactive blonde, from the ramen shop to the training grounds. After her parents finally gave in and allowed her to invite two friends to bring on their vacation, Naruto was the first person to immediately pop into her head. He was the only one who could truly make Gaara see the light. Of course, she didn't know how corrupted Gaara might already be – from what the Naruto in her original timeline had told her, Gaara's father had started sending assassins after him once he turned six.<p>

Perhaps he already lived for himself and hated others. He was seven currently, and she didn't know how much of a difference one year made but she couldn't wait any longer. Introducing Gaara to another Jincuuriki, someone who understands his pain and loneliness so well, would hopefully be the best thing for him. Especially if he accepted them all as friends. Then he wouldn't have to feel so alone his entire childhood.

Of course, Naruto didn't actually know the Nine-Tails resided in his body yet. And Sakura had no clue what information Gaara possessed about himself, but she felt the right thing to do in this situation would be for them to meet. Now she just needed to find said blonde and ask him to come on vacation with her.

Unable to find any of his friends that morning, Naruto had wandered over to the park out of boredom, hoping to find someone to hangout with. The kids had seemed more than willing to play, but as soon as their parents had caught sight of him they pulled their children back by the arm and led them away immediately saying things such as, "I've told you not to play with that kid. He's dangerous." And they didn't hesitate to insult Naruto or remind him no one wanted him in the village as they exited through the gate. As he stared at their retreating backs, hot rage surging within him, he thought making friends with the kids at the school would help change the townspeople's opinion of him. To see other children playing with him and enjoying his company. But clearly he had thought wrong.

Naruto walked through the streets, fists clenched, anger radiating throughout his entire body as he thought back to that scene on the playground, wanting nothing more than to rip something apart violently. He kicked rocks out of his way, causing dirt to rise up around him but he didn't care. _Why did the townspeople detest him so much?_

He glared angrily at the people passing around them, figuring they would avert their eyes like usual. Instead, they stared at him, some with patronizing expressions, others protectively wrapping their arms around their children out of fear. "What the hell is it!? Why are you all looking at me like that?" Naruto demanded of them, desperately wanting an answer. But, like always, no one responded to his pleas, but instead gazed at him like he was a monster.

"Why doesn't the Third just send him away?" one woman whispered to her friend as they turned and walked away from the scene.

"I know, right? Doesn't he ever think of us and our safety?" the other one replied. The woman had spoken in what they assumed were hushed tones, but Naruto clearly heard it all. He instantly fled from the scene, wiping his eyes as he did so, and sprinted off toward the Hokage Monument, ignoring the random insults the townspeople shouted out as he ran by.

Without realizing it, Naruto raced right by Sakura, who saw him out of the corner of her eye.

"Naruto!" she shouted, seeing the look of hurt on his face.

"Just leave me alone already!" he snapped as he continued to race off down the dirt pathway.

But she chased after him, and when she got close enough grabbed him by the back of his shirt, causing him to jolt back and she crashed into him, sending them tumbling down to the ground together. Naruto rubbed the back of his aching head, ready to yell at the person who caused him to trip, but instantly stopped and averted his gaze when he realized it was Sakura.

"Are you alright? What happened?" she asked with concern embedded in her voice.

He shook his head, eyes downcast, staring off into space. "Nothing. You wouldn't understand."

"You know you can tell me anything."

"All I want," he said through gritted teeth, "is to make the village see how great I am. Once I become the Hokage. Then everyone will notice and like me."

"Naruto...just ignore them. You don't need to prove anything–"

"But why do they treat me like this? It doesn't make sense! I haven't done anything wrong. So why!?" he demanded, talking more to himself than he was her.

"I-I don't know. But you have people who care about you. You have us!"

Naruto stopped in his tracks for a second. It was true. They _had_ acted nicer to him than anyone ever had before. But he felt too angry at that moment to believe her.

"How do I know you're not just pretending!" He accused.

Sakura grabbed his hand in an effort to try and make him understand.

"I'm not going to leave your side Naruto. And it's for that reason – I'll do whatever it takes to make you feel acknowledged. I'll always accept who you are."

Naruto gasped, stepping back for a second to let the words soak in. Then a genuine smile reached his lips and he pulled her into a warm, bone crushing hug. "Thank you, Sakura."

"By the way, the reason I came to find you – do you want to come on vacation with my family next week? They said I could bring two friends."

"Whoa really? I've never been anywhere cool. Yeah! I'll definitely come!"

"That's great!" Sakura laughed.

"Your parents are so cool! They must like me huh?"

"Yes, they love you Naruto. You only eat over three times a week," Sakura grinned, playfully punching him on the shoulder.

"I can't wait," the blonde exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air.

* * *

><p>The next day, Sakura, Kiba, Hinata, Naruto, Choji and Shikamaru were hanging out in their usual spot in the training area, talking about their vacation plans. Sakura wanted to bring Sasuke with her as well, but she didn't know if it was the right choice just yet. She didn't want the others finding out there was still another spot available out of fear she would hurt someone's feelings. Unfortunately, Naruto couldn't keep his shut. Once everyone arrived, except for Sasuke who mysteriously never showed up, he burst out, "Guess what! Sakura invited <em>me <em>to go on vacation with her and her family. I don't really know where we're going but who cares! Oh yeah, Sakura. Who else are you gonna invite to go with us?" Sakura slapped a palm to her face, shaking her head, then went back to hitting a tree, hoping to improve this weak body of hers.

"It sounds like fun but my mom probably wouldn't have let me go. She's crazy," Kiba explained. "Besides, my sister Hana said she'd let me help her take care of the dogs and teach me how to treat them. And one of them is supposed to give birth soon! I can't pass that chance up."

"I'd love to but my Father has to take care of some business with the leader of some village a few towns over. And he requested that big brother Neji and I go with him."

"That sounds kind of boring," Kiba commented nonchalantly as he threw a stick far into the woods. Akamaru bounded after it happily, tail wagging.

"I guess there is a really huge festival being held there so I'm looking forward to it. And I think Neji is too," Hinata smiled serenely.

Shikamaru and Choji both agreed they'd rather relax and do nothing the entire week.

_'Some people never change,'_ Sakura mused. She thought of Sasuke and grinned because this meant she could invite him and not feel bad about leaving the others out. After everyone left for the night, she and Naruto headed over to the Uchiha compound on the outskirts of the town.

"May we please get by? My friend lives here and I need to ask him something," Sakura politely asked the guards standing at the entrance.

"Sorry, but you need permission. And _that_," one said, pointing at Naruto, "is definitely not allowed inside."

"They're with me," a friendly voice called out from behind her as Naruto clenched his fists tightly and growled, but the guards didn't lower their defenses.

"Shisui?"

"That's right," he grinned, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Takeo. Noriaki. Stand down. I said these two were with me."

The one named Takeo hesitated, but he dropped his arms and moved aside to let them pass. Noriaki followed suit.

"So, who are you here to see?" Shisui asked them once they were inside.

"Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed. "We're inviting him on vacation!"

"Ah. I see. That sounds like fun," Shisui commented, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

They walked until they reached a good sized house, the Uchiha symbol emblazoned on the front door.

"Well, here we are! I'll be over there," Shisui pointed to marketplace a short distance away. "Come find me when you're done." Before they could say anything, he vanished.

"Well, I guess we should knock," Sakura suggested. Nartuo then proceeded to knock so loud Sakura covered here ears, praying they wouldn't be forced out of the compound. Thankfully, Sasuke answered the door right away.

"Hey, we can't stay long. What are you doing for vacation next week?" Saskura asked right away.

"Hpmh. Leave me alone." Sasuke crossed his arms, refusing to look at her.

Naruto frowned. "What the heck is you problem Uchiha!?"

"It's not fair!" Sasuke burst out. "Sakura is going away for vacation and gets to spend time with Itachi. I heard him say it myself! And I never get to see him anymore because he says he doesn't have time for me!"

"Sasuke...," Sakura started, "I don't know how you found out your brother was escorting my family...but we came to invite you to come with us! We're going to Suna!"

"Oh...really?" His entire demeanor instantly changed, and he felt bad for acting like a stubborn kid. Putting his hand behind his head awkwardly, he said, "Sorry for my behavior. Itachi's just been acting really dumb lately."

"Don't worry about it," Sakura smiled reassuringly.

As much as Sasuke wanted to go, he didn't have faith his parents would say yes to letting him stay with strangers. Even though Sasuke ate at the Haruno household all the time, their parents had never once interacted or acknowledged each other's existence.

But to his surprise, Itachi's father agreed after mewling it over in his head for a good ten minutes. Fugaku realized this could potentially be a good thing if his youngest son went with these people. _If Sasuke was safely out of the way...and with Itachi..._

"I'll meet with your parents later in a few days to discuss the details," Fugaku said as he led Sakura and Naruto to the front door. Sakura was positively beaming since she didn't think Sasuke's parents would actually agree. And he hadn't even mentioned Naruto!

Once they exited the Uchiha compound, after being escorted out by Shisui, she and Naruto parted ways. As she was heading towards her house she heard a familiar voice in the distance.

A lone man, wearing a maroon cloak, stood on a bridge that connected two ponds, waving a hand through the air menacingly and yelling into a device Sakura didn't recognize. It piqued her interest and she found herself wondering who the person was. His voice sounded so familiar...yet at the same time it didn't.

"I'M GOING TO BREAK YOUR FUCKING JAW THE NEXT TIME I SEE YOU," the menacing voice reached her ears. " DO YOU HEAR ME? YOUR FUCKING JAW. I'M GONNA FUCKING BREAK – Hold on. There's a little girl walking by."

The man took leaned back against the bridge, intending to let the pink-haired child pass through but when Sakura recognized his face she immediately stopped in her tracks. "Olivier!"

"Oh," he paused, not seeming shocked in the least. "It's just you, Sakura." Turning in the opposite direction, he held his arm up to his mouth and spoke into a strange device wrapped around his wrist. "I have business to take care of. I'll deal with _you_ later."

Olivier pressed a button, sighed and faced her once again, running a hand through his curly blonde locks.

"Sorry you had to see me like that." He smiled down at her, quickly regaining his composure.

"So...who were you shouting at?"

The smile on his face instantly vanished and he scowled. "My younger brother..."

_'Yep_,' Sakura thought. '_Beneath his calm exterior was definitely a violent and sadistic psychopath.' _Sakura truly didn't like or trust him. Olivier may have given her the chance to start all over, but she didn't quite believe it was for her benefit. She needed to find a way to work around the little game he was playing.

"Why are you even here?"

Ignoring the question he grinned, waving a brown cane with purple designs flamboyantly through the air. (Where had that even come from?) "I see you've made progress in that younger body of yours." When Sakura looked confused, he added, "I was watching you earlier. Your punches were nice and on target."

"Actually, you helped me with that Olivier." Sakura face broke out in a wide grin.

"Oh really?" He asked, genuinely surprised, but pleased.

"Yep. Every time I practice punching or kicking something I pretend it's your face!" she sang happily.

"You really do hate me don't you," he murmured after a minute or two had gone by, hanging his head in mock shame.

"You're treating this whole thing like it's a game...so I don't particularly trust you. I know you've been hiding important stuff from me."

Olivier wagged his finger teasingly in front of her face. "Of course I am. I'm only using you silly girl. But you're also using me to save your little friends. So really, all is fair."

"Are you plotting something terrible?" Sakura demanded, not bothering to beat around the bush.

"Come on, I'll admit that in the past I was rather nasty, but you'll find I've repented and seen the light," he said, hopping up onto the railing, kicking his feet back and forth like a child.

"Yeah right," Sakura muttered, her face impassive, clearly unimpressed.

"Look, I don't want to see you suffer. In fact, I hope your little plan works out. It's no fun to sign contracts with people and have every single one fail."

Sakura registered the double meaning behind his words but chose to ignore them for the time being. "Why can't you just leave me alone? Do I have to live my whole life here in this time-line worrying I'll run into you every now and again?"

"Sigh. You know, I think we could have gotten along rather well. But no, no. There will come a time when you'll never see me again," Olivier said with a twisted smile, his piercing gray eyes fixated on her.

"Good."

"You are one uncute brat."

"Good," Sakura repeated, crossing her arms.

"Let me give you a word of advice before I go. A loyalty that holds fast will become a blade, and will pierce someday those you hold dear. So open your eyes wide. That is, if you... don't want to end up like me..."

Sakura's arms unraveled out of surprise as she sputtered, "Wait...what?"

"Sorry, I must be off!" Olivier said, leaping off the ledge gracefully, his cloak flowing behind him.

"You didn't even tell me why you were here! Don't leave!" Sakura reached out to grab him but her hand went through his body.

With a small wave and a blinding flash of light, Olivier once again, completely disappeared, leaving her alone and confused as ever.

* * *

><p>A week later, Sakura, her parents and Naruto, stood waiting by Konoha's front gates for the Uchiha brothers to had expected Itachi to show up wearing the standard issued ANBU uniform, but instead he arrived at the front gates donned in casual Uchiha attire, a knapsack slung over his shoulder, and Sasuke glued to his side.<p>

"Hey Sasuke!" Sakura greeted happily as she and Naruto ran over to him.

"Hi guys! This is my brother," the raven-haired boy gestured to Itachi.

Sakura's father stepped forward, extending his hand. "Nice to finally meet our escort. I'm Kizashi Haruno. And this is my wife, Mebuki. My daughter Sakura. And Naruto, who may as well be my adopted son." He smiled as he ruffled Naruto's hair affectionately.

"The pleasure is all mine," Itachi replied, nodding in everyone's direction politely.

"Only thirteen and already in the ANBU huh? You must be really powerful for someone your age," Kizashi said conversationally.

"Being the best isn't all it's cracked up to be," Itachi commented nonchalantly, however, his eyes reflected his inner turmoil, something that only Sakura picked up on. She felt a pang in her chest, worried how this entire situation would mess up the future. Sakura knew the Uchiha were planning to overthrow the village any time now and could only imagine how Itachi must be feeling in regards to the subject. It must be extremely difficult to leave the village knowing your clan could attack the village at any moment. In fact, she was worried herself, but she hoped they wouldn't dare try anything without the prodigy of the Uchiha clan there. _She just didn't want him to suffer anymore. Just like Gaara._

"Don't the ANBU normally wear masks?" Naruto suddenly pointed a finger at Itachi. "Do you have it with you? Can I try it on!?"

"Yes. Usually. However, those are reserved for special missions. " Itachi replied. "And I don't have it with—"

But Naruto rudely interrupted him, simply ecstatic to be talking to a Black Ops member in the flesh. "What kind of—ow!" he yelped as Sasuke pulled him backwards by the collar and whispered into his ear. "Idiot! Stop asking my brother so many questions! He probably thinks you're annoying!"

"Well, is everyone ready then?" Mebuki asked, and everyone nodded their heads in unison.

About a ten minutes into their journey, Sakura's dad broke the silence.

"Oh come on Itachi," Kizashi said throwing an arm around the older Uchiha. "There's no need to look so stiff. Relax a little and have a good time. Just because you're our escort doesn't mean you can't have some fun too."

Walking behind the adults and Itachi were the children, who were already bored of walking. Naruto punched Sakura on the arm and whispered into her ear. "Pass it on."

She turned to Sasuke and jabbed him lightly on the side, repeating Naruto's words with a grin on her face.

But he frowned and shoved her hard so that she gave a little yelp as she knocked into the blonde.

Soon enough, all three of them were on the ground and on top of each other, biting, kicking, and hair pulling.

Itachi glanced back, shaking his head the kids antics, but quickly reverted to thinking about the coup again. He didn't feel comfortable traveling during this time, but he could only hope his father wouldn't resort to foolish measures. Before he left, he met with Shisui, his best friend, and the only person to see Itachi for what he really was.

He had clasped the back of Shisui's neck and leaned forward, their foreheads touching.

"Please," Itachi begged. "Don't let the clan do anything stupid while I'm gone."

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you all liked it! Next time, prepare yourself for festivals, dancing, and bath houses ! ;)<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**BIG thank you to everyone who has reviewed or favorite or alerted! I love you all!**

* * *

><p>After two days of traveling, the group of six had only made it halfway to Suna due to Naruto's constant complaining and Sakura's father having to stop at every sight seeing place along the way once they reached the Land of Rivers.<p>

Whilst exiting the Land of Fire, a band of rogue ninja had attempted to rob Sakura's parents, however, Itachi disposed of them easily, despite the attackers being twice his age.

"Woah!" Naruto exclaimed, dancing on the balls of his feet as Itachi hands moved with such incredible speed Naruto even couldn't read what hand signs they were.

"Di-did you kill them?" Naruto asked nervously after the battle had ceased. The enemy lay on the floor, every single one of them still and unmoving.

"No. They're just unconscious," Itachi replied from his crouching position. His hands explored their bodies, looking for any form of identification.

"Did you find anything?" Mebuki asked, her arms still protectively wrapped around the three children.

"No. Let's keep moving."

"Itachi," Sasuke pouted, tugging on his older brother's shirt. "Why did you have to end the fight so quickly? I wanted to help."

Smiling, Itachi poked Sasuke gently on the forehead. "You'll get the chance soon enough, Sasuke."

Sasuke turned away frowning, but when Itachi bent down so that his knees touched the ground, Sasuke's demeanor completely changed. His eyes lit up and he hopped onto Itachi's back, clinging on to the brother he loved tightly.

Sakura stared at the affectionate scene before her and her face broke out in a huge smile. No way would she ever let the Uchiha massacre occur after witnessing this. Or the coup for that matter. Sasuke and Itachi would _not_ suffer through that again. She still didn't quite have a plan, but it wasn't very important at the moment since Itachi had a mission to be their escort. Gaara was her only priority right now.

Another hour passed and they reached the capital city of River Country.

"Well kids, Itachi, get ready to unwind the next three days. We're staying here!" Kizashi announced.

"Mom...Dad...what...three days! Why are we here!?" Sakura questioned, a look of horror on her face.

"If I'm not mistaken there's a festival in this city this time of year," Itachi remarked, glancing up at the sky thoughtfully.

Kizashi laughed."Itachi is right on the mark. You didn't think we were going to spend the the entire vacation in Suna, did you Sakura?"

"Well, yes, actually." she admitted. It would have given her more time to spend with Gaara after all.

"I don't know why you're in such a rush to get there," Mebuki shook her head. "There's really nothing but sand."

"I...have reasons," Sakura faltered, unable to explain herself.

"Oh come on, don't be like that dear. There's plenty of things to do in the Land of Wind!" Kizashi chortled.

Mebuki gave her husband a look that told him to keep quiet. "Let's go. We need to get to the inn. I'm exhausted."

As they entered through the gates that led to the city, a tiny girl wrapped in a bright red shawl held out a flower to Itachi as he walked by.

The two boys must have received flowers from her as well because up ahead Naruto was currently chasing Sasuke around trying to stuff Daisy down his pants."

"You can have this," a deep voice from beside Sakura said. She spun around to find Itachi handing her the bright yellow flower he had received.

"Oh. Thank you. You don't want it?"

"It would look much better on you," he smiled. Before Sakura could respond Itachi tucked the flower behind her ear. Then he quickly rushed off to grab Naruto and Sasuke before they wandered too far ahead and got lost.

Sakura felt confused. She had assumed Itachi would remain quiet and serious the entire trip, due to the Uchiha coup looming over his head. But his soft side was shining through. A genuine smile reached her lips. She liked this side of him.

Later on, Sakura's father squealed with delight when he realized a bathhouse was located right across the street from their inn.

"I think we all earned the right to relax after a long journey," he stated merrily.

"A communal bath house?" Itachi questioned after he read the sign, mildly surprised. "You don't see many of those lately."

Sakura instantly froze in her tracks.

"What's that mean?" Naruto asked cocking his head to the side. Sasuke stroked his chin in contemplation.

"It's a bath house where are no separate bathing rooms for men and women. Everyone bathes together," Mebuki explained.

"Oh come on," Kizashi stared, noting the look of horror on Sasuke's face. "Without the skinship of mutual nakedness, you children won't be properly socialized."

Sasuke frowned. It never bothered him to bathe naked with his fellow clansmen back in Konoha, but men and women were always separated then. Not to mention Sakura of all people, his closest girl friend, would be washing herself in the same room as him. Needless to say, he felt extremely awkward.

"How come there aren't any of these back home?" Naruto asked once they were in the men's changing room, dumbfounded.

"They've been decreasing in numbers over the years," Itachi said.

"It's quite a shame really. Most people like to define themselves with their clothes or makeup, which from the psychological aspects is a layer of defense, giving a person a status, or conveying a message or a statement. In the public bath, however, everybody is naked, and clothes and make up cannot be used to distinguish rank or social group. So really, people would feel better about themselves if we were naked all the time," Kizashi finished, grinning.

"Relax Sasuke," Itachi said as he took off his shirt, taking note of Sasuke's horrified facial expression. "There's no reason to feel embarrassed about being naked in front of the opposite sex."

Upon entering the bathing area, Sakura cautiously looked around. Her parents were already on the far side of the room, but she wanted to avoid them too. A supply of small stools and buckets were placed by the door. A number of wash stations lined the wall, each equipped with two faucets. Not seeing the boys, she hurriedly picked up one stool, one bucket and sat down at a free set of faucets.

Within the next few seconds she heard the sound of feet squishing against a wet floor and suddenly Naruto's face was inches from her own.

"Hey Sakura!" the blonde greeted, not even bothering to cover himself with a towel. A mortified Sasuke hid behind him, his towel wrapped around him like a cloak.

Sakura opened her mouth to answer when she felt a light tap on her shoulder. Turning around she and Itachi's eyes met.

"Mind if I sit here?" he asked politely, indicating the space next to her, his long locks of black hair cascading down his back. He laughed when he noticed her expression. "I'd like to keep an eye on Sasuke." Sakura nodded her head meekly, trying to look anywhere but the lower half of his body. But she couldn't resist peeking at least once. She instantly shook herself out of those thoughts.

_'What's wrong with me? He's only thirteen and probably not even developed yet. I'm such a sick person for even thinking of this!'_

_'It's so much fun hanging out with them! So much better than being alone!' _Naruto thought gleefully as he began scrubbing his body with a washcloth.

_'This is torture.'_ Sasuke hadn't even removed his towel yet. His eyes continuously darted back and forth. _'So many naked women in here.'_

After the four of them had washed themselves free of any dirt, Sasuke taking a little longer to do so than the rest, they all climbed into the same bath, making sure no traces of shampoo could be found on their bodies before hopping in the hot water.

Once fully submerged, Sasuke immediately placed his hands over his private area and started sinking down under the water so only his eyes were visible. When he and Sakura made eye contact he quickly averted his gaze and started to climb up out of the bath until Itachi and Naruto reeled him back in.

Sakura had finally had enough. "We're naked. So what? Stop being a baby Sasuke."

"Yeah," Naruto agreed. "Baths are a time to sit back and relax!"

"How can I relax if you two are holding me down?" Sasuke grunted, his face turning a brighter shade of red every second. Naruto and Itachi were each holding him by an arm and keeping him planted in the water; seated right by the entrance to the bath itself. Why did they have to resort to such tactics? He couldn't understand.

"Just pretend we're not here," Sakura suggested.

"That's kind of hard when they're holding me down!" Sasuke pointed out, struggling against their grip.

"Pretend everyone's naked!" Naruto gave a thumbs up.

The glare Sasuke gave Naruto made him tremble with fear.

After everyone in their group had finished with their bath, they all departed for the changing rooms. Sakura didn't feel bothered to put her actual clothes on, seeing as they were only crossing the street to reach their destination, so she threw on a robe.

It seems everyone else had had the same idea. Except for Sasuke. As they made their way to the inn, a massive hornet decided to fly up her robe.

Sakura shrieked wildly as she thrashed about. "Help me!"

Sasuke lurched forward, ready to help, but then he remembered Sakura wanted someone to remove the hornet from inside her robe – in which she was wearing nothing under.

"Sa-Sakura, I can't...you're..."

"What!"

"Naked!"

"You've seen it all anyway!"

Sasuke instantly recoiled, too nervous to help her out. That's when Itachi stepped in to the rescue.

Naruto patted his friend on the back solemnly after the problem was solved. "It's okay Sasuke. I'll only use this against you in the future."

Sasuke hung his head in shame, never having been so embarrassed in his life.

* * *

><p>The next day was spent entirely at the festival. Sakura's parents had stayed with the kids for while but later in the afternoon left to attend "adult only" parties. Itachi was left in charge.<p>

Groups of choreographed dancers and musicians danced through the streets, chanting and singing as they did so, some wielding fans or brightly colored towels.

People lined up in a circle around a high wooden scaffold that held the musicians and singers.

Everyone around them performed the dance sequence in unison, leaving Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura frustrated as they tried to copy the movements to no avail.

"I can't dance at all," Sakura sighed. Even in her original timeline she had never learned how to properly dance. Nor had she been interested.

"This is embarrassing." Sasuke complained, crossing his arms and turning away from the others, his cheeks turning red.

"You're just mad because clearly the Uchiha aren't great at everything after all!"

The raven haired boy scowled.

"Watch me guys! I'm going to make up my own dance and it's going to be really awesome!" Naruto boasted in an arrogant manner. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, amused as the overexcited boy started swinging his hips awkwardly in a circle and waving his hands through the air like a maniac. As he began hopping around like a frog, wiggling his butt back and forth in a comedic fashion, both Sasuke and Sakura were unable to remain quiet— they burst out in a fit of giggles.

"What the heck was _that_?" Sakura gasped loudly after a few minutes, trying to catch her breath, her sides aching after laughing so hard.

"Just like I thought," Sasuke smirked as he stuck out his tongue in a degrading manner. "You really suck."

But Naruto paid no attention. Instead, he continued doing his own thing and soon enough Sasuke and Sakura were hopping around beside him.

"Sakura? Naruto? Sasuke?" A familiar voice squeaked from behind them. All three of them spun around at once.

"Hinata!" they exclaimed.

Sakura rushed forward to envelop her in a hug. She noticed Neji for the first time standing behind his cousin, a haughty look on his face.

"Neji!" Sakura said happily and she hugged him too.

"What are you guys doing here?" Sasuke asked.

"I told you guys we were attending a festival over vacation."

"You did?" Sasuke questioned.

"I don't think you were there for some reason when I said it but I definitely told Sakura and Naruto," Hinata replied.

"It didn't even cross my mind that you'd be here too," Sakura confessed.

"Yeah, I completely forgot," Naruto added.

"Well, come on then. Dance with us," Sakura grinned, beckoning the two Hyugas to join them.

"I'd rather not," Neji spoke stiffly. Rolling her eyes, Sakura grabbed him by the hand and soon enough he reluctantly gave in.

It was the best time Sakura had ever had in a long time. The light from the fire reflected off their happy faces.

Itachi clapped along to the music lightly with the other bystanders, content to see a genuine smile on his little brother's face.

"Some fools dance while some fools watch! If we're all to be a fool, then let's all dance!" a gravelly but pleasant voice exclaimed from behind him. There were shouts of agreement all around and that's when Itachi suddenly felt someone clasp his shoulder. He found himself being pushed headfirst into the congregation of dancers as the people surrounding him surged forward all at once to join in on the fun.

When Sakura saw that Itachi had joined the fray she ran over to him excitedly.

"Come on! Let's go dance over there!"

"I don't think I should partake in such unfitting activities," Itachi said.

"No I insist!"

"I'm here to protect you and act as your guard. There could be enemies lurking mff—"

Sakura had stood on the tips of her toes to cover Itachi's mouth with her hand, muffling his voice.

"Oh shut up already and come dance."

Itachi finally allowed himself to be dragged into the middle of the dancers by this little girl. Sakura could hardly believe the situation she was in right now. _Dancing with Itachi Uchiha._ She couldn't stop giggling like an idiot as he twirled her through the air. The very idea was highly absurd, but here they were, dancing together, even though both of them had no idea what they were doing.

Hinata and Sasuke were dancing beside them, or trying to anyway. Sasuke must have assumed swaying his hips in a zigzag motion made him look cool. Meanwhile, Naruto held out his arm to Neji jokingly but the byakugan user spat, "Hell no!" and crossed his arms haughtily.

Sakura laughed. Could things ever really be normal like this?

That's when she remembered. All of them. Every single one of her friends here with her now had died, with the exception of Hinata.

She suddenly felt overwhelmed and stopped dancing.

"What's wrong?" Itachi asked, genuinely concerned.

She needed an excuse. And fast. "Nothing. I just—I'm tired. I want to sit down for a little while."

Without waiting for his reply she walked away and sat down on a bench that was hidden from everyone's viewpoint. Naruto, who had seen Sakura get visibly upset, rushed forward to comfort her but Itachi held him back.

"Let her be," he whispered quietly.

Sakura's original plan had been to not grow so attached to everyone so that she could one day leave and return to her own time. Protecting them from the shadows and seeing her friends grow up to be happy is what she had intended from the start. She slumped forward. How could that plan had ever worked? Besides, she had no idea if returning to her own time was even possible. "I'm an idiot." She put her head between her knees. "I don't even know anymore. I guess I'll just have to wing it. As long as the massacre doesn't happen; plus I have to save Gaara from the people of his village and himself."

Images of all the friends and enemies she wanted to help flashed through her mind.

"That's right. I just...have to keep moving forward. I can't stop. There's still things I need to do."

She remembered back to the day made the deal with Olivier.

_'Write down the 3 people you want to save the most...'_ His words floated through her mind and she involuntarily shuddered.

Without giving it a second thought, Gaara's name had been the first one she wrote down. The two other names flashed through her mind.

"I...I don't know if I can do that."

A loud explosion made her jump, but she ignored it.

"And here I go, crying again," she muttered as she wiped her eyes. "All I am is useless. Why me? Why was I sent back? What can I even change? I don't know what to do anymore."

But in her heart, there was only one thing she was certain of, and that was how this would all end.

Suddenly, Sakura felt a great whoosh of wind as a streak of blonde went sailing past her followed by a miniscule figure with a massive nose.

"Catch me if you can old man!" a boy's voice cackled loudly.

When she caught sight of that long blonde hair and blue eyes she had to look at least five more times before she convinced herself she was really seeing him.

"Deidara!?" she sputtered incredulously.

His voice much higher than she remembered. '_Well obviously moron, he's just a kid.'_ Sakura mentally scolded herself.

It was because of him Gaara had died. She didn't know how to feel about seeing him again, but he clearly wasn't a missing-nin just yet. Just a kid like her. Only a few years older.

However, her fists had clenched once she had confirmed it was him. Not wanting to have the unlucky chance of running into him again, she hurriedly jumped off the bench to go find her friends, only to find Deidara's face pressed right up against hers.

"Have you been crying!?" He asked bluntly.

"What? No!" Sakura lied automatically.

"Close your eyes, hn." Deidara demanded. Sakura hesitated for a second but the fire in Deidara's eyes warned her not to disobey. Sakura closed her eyes. She felt him place something small in the palm of her hand.

"You can open them now!"

Sakura could practically feel Deidara shaking from excitement beside her. She opened her eyes again. It was a cherry blossom molded out of clay.

She didn't know how to respond. "Oh...uhm...thank you?"

A second later the cherry blossom exploded and soot covered Sakura's entire face.

"What are you constipated or something?" Deidara cackled madly. "What's your face all scrunched up for, hn?"

Sakura felt her a vein in her temple burst. "Why'd you do that!?"

"I'm just testing something out. All I do in my free time is experiment with explosions." Deidara's face glowed happily. "One day I'm going to join the Explosion Corps!"

"Where are you from?" Sakura asked, curious because she didn't actually know herself.

"Iwa! You? I'm Deidara by the way." He extended his hand and she shook it.

"Konoha. And I'm Sakura. So why are you even here in this city then?"

"Me and the old man are returning from a mission. What about you?"

"Old man?"

"My sensei."

Sakura nodded. "Oh I see. My family's on vacation. My friends are here with me too but I'm not sure where they are at the moment..."

"Ha! Did they ditch you?" Deidara laughed, his voice full of scorn.

"No!" '_No wonder he joined the Akatsuki. He's such a brat,'_ Sakura couldn't help but think. "But I'm leaving now. So bye."

As she stalked away Deidara followed her and talked non stop the whole way back to inner part of the city. The only thing he talked about? Art.

"Fine art is the beauty of that single fleeting moment of explosion," Deidara exclaimed, a dreamy expression on his face.

"You know what," Sakura finally said.

"What?"

She held her breath. "I think you're right." _Maybe if I agree him he'll leave me alone._

Deidara grabbed her by the shoulders and looked deep into her eyes."Wait, are you being serious?"

"Yeah I am," she answered honestly. "Not let go of me." She brushed him off and continued walking.

"Everyone in my village always ridicules me for my love of art. But I finally found someone who agrees with me. Yes!" Deidara fist pumped the air.

When Sakura caught sight of her friends she dashed away, intent on leaving Deidara behind but he grabbed her by the hand before she could escape.

"It was nice meeting you! See you around Sakura!" Deidara waved at her and disappeared off into the night. _He's really not that bad after all. Wait, what am I saying? Of course he is. He joined the Akatsuki after all._

But Sakura couldn't help but think maybe things didn't have to be that way.

_Maybe he could change too._

"Who was that girl?" both Naruto and Sasuke asked. Sakura tried to muffle her laughter. "Deidara." she replied, not bothering to correct them.

Since it had gotten quite late Hinata and Neji said their goodbyes and they all departed for their respective hotels.

The next morning, Sakura's jaw nearly dropped to the floor in shock when she saw Deidara in the breakfast lounge, sipping tea and reading the newspaper casually, his feet up on the table.

"Why are you here?" she asked warily.

"Oh good. You're up. I followed you last night," Deidara commented as if it were no big deal.

"No seriously."

"What can I say? I'm bored and I'm stuck here for the day. I figured we could do something."

"Uh..."

That's when Sasuke and Naruto came bounding down the stairs at the smell of food.

"I guess you're friends would have to come too, hn," Deidara said as an afterthought, his eye the only thing visible from behind the newspaper.

"What's that girl from last night doing here?" Sasuke started to say but that's when the light bulb in his head went off.

"Oh...I thought you were a girl," he remarked casually and Naruto gasped a few seconds later, the truth about Deidara's gender finally hitting him.

Deidara growled, clenching his fist, but decided the one with dark hair wasn't worth his time."Whatever, hn." Instead he spun around to face the pink-haired girl.

"Hey Sakura, want to see the newest art piece I made?"

"I don't know...last time you blew it up in my face."

"I bet it exploded because his "art" is stupid," Sasuke commented.

That was the breaking point. Nobody insulted Deidara's art and got away with it. At least not without a lesson in pain.

Deidara's eye twitched and his face contorted with rage. He leapt onto Sasuke's table without warning and yanked the boy upwards by the collar of his shirt, causing Sasuke's cereal bowl to overturn in the process and spilling milk all over his clothes. Naruto watched the fight eagerly as he piled his plate to the brim with different types of dishes.

"What'd you say kid!? Are you mocking me, hn?"

"Yeah maybe I am you guy who looks like a girl!"

Both Deidara and Sasuke gasped as they were suddenly lifted into the air and hung like coats on the wall so that the ground was a good four feet below them.

Deidara dangled in the air helplessly, thrashing his arms about wildly, trying to remove his shirt out from underneath the hook. Sasuke only frowned and crossed his arms, refusing to look at the blonde or anyone else for that matter.

"What's going on here?" Itachi asked.

"He started it!" The two boys yelled at the same time, pointing at each other with scowls on their faces.

After both of them had calmed down, Itachi finally set them down on the ground. Deidara kissed the floor while Itachi gave his younger brother a talk about behaving in public in the next room over.

Once they exited the room Itachi spoke. "I have business to attend to today. I'll be back in a few hours. Behave yourselves. I believe Mr. and Mrs. Haruno went to the supermarket to get some items. Wait for them here before you go running off." And with that Itachi took off without even eating anything.

"I'm watching you Uchiha! I know your weakness!" Deidara shouted once Itachi had left.

"Oh yeah?" scoffed Sasuke.

"...Naked women..." he whispered.

Sasuke froze. "Wait what," he sputtered. He tried to keep cool but his body betrayed him as he trembled slightly—something that Deidara did not miss.

Smirking triumphantly, the artist put his hands on his hips and casually flipped a strand of blonde hair out of his face.

Sakura and Deidara exchanged glances as Naruto rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Sasuke narrowed his eyes in suspicion. These simple gestures were as good as a confession.

"You traitors!" Before Sasuke could pounce on anyone the front door opened.

"Oh hey. What's up?" Deidara waved. Clearly Deidara knew this man.

The old man raised an eyebrow. "Friends of yours?"

"Let me introduce you sensei," Deidara said. The old man rolled his eyes.

"This is Sasuke." Deidara gestured to the raven haired boy. Leaning close to his sensei, he whispered loudly into his ear, "He's a total idiot."

"I heard that!" Sasuke fumed.

"He would have found out soon enough," Sakura shook her head sadly.

"Whose side are you people on!?"

Ignoring Sasuke, Deidara walked over to Naruto, who currently sat stuffing his face full of rice and other side dishes. "This is Naruto. He's kind of dumb too but he seems cool to me," Deidara grinned as he threw an arm around Naruto's shoulder as if they had been best friends their entire lives. Naruto smiled in response, painfully oblivious to the fact that he had just been insulted.

"And this is Sakura..." Deidara tapped his mouth, looking her up and down, searching for the right words to describe her.

"Now's not the time to be fooling around with kids younger than you," Onoki interrupted. "Once I finish my business here we are going. Be ready to leave by tomorrow morning."

"I don't have to stay with you all day, do I?" Deidara whined.

"Do whatever you want for today. Just don't blow up the town...too much." Onoki grinned deviously.

* * *

><p>Once Sakura's parents had returned, they agreed to take them out into the city to see the second day of the festival. Her father took an instant liking to Deidara and his personality.<p>

"It's okay if you guys walk ahead of us. Just don't wander too far away," Mebuki told them.

"Let's go explore the town some more!" Naruto cried.

"Since I'm the oldest I proclaim myself our awesome leader!" Deidara shouted. Sasuke bit back his retort.

After walking further they came upon a collection of amusement stands.

"For a little price you can see who you are fated to be with," a man sitting in front of a brewing cauldron called.

"Tch, I'll be he Hokage one day. I'll have all the women," boasted Naruto. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Not interested," Deidara said flatly and he walked away.

"Ill pass," Sakura agreed following after him quickly for he took long strides.

As the four of them made their way to the inner part of the city, Saske stopped suddenly.

"Hey guys, give me a minute. I need to do something."

"Where are you going?" Sakura questioned.

"We'll come with you!" Naruto flashed his trademark grin.

Raising his hands "No, no, it's okay. It'll take a second. Catch up with you in a second."

He turned and dashed back down the path leading to the inn.

Sakura heard a snicker coming from Deidara's direction. One glance at the evil gleam in his eyes and she instantly knew what was about to happen.

"Katsu!" he cried and the ground in front of Sasuke blew up, sending him flying through the air only to land on a pile of dirty hay.

"What the heck was that for!?" Sasuke demanded.

"Consider it my gift of friendship to you."

"We're not even friends!"

"From this day on we are, hn!" Deidara proclaimed and beat a fist to his chest, his hair flowing in the light breeze.

"I don't want to be friends with someone who looks like a girl!"

"Hey! I look like a girl." Sakura pointed out.

"I believe you are a girl," Deidara said in a pompous manner. Then he added, "But I can check just to make sure."

"Hey yeah. I am a girl Sasuke! What's that supposed to mean?" Then she paused after realizing the meaning behind Deidara's words. "Wait...what did you just say Deidara!?"

Sasuke sighed in fake exasperation, rubbing his temple. "You know that's not what I meant."

Deidara ducked as Sakura's fist went sailing past his head, cackling like a maniac.

Sakura turned back to face Sasuke. "Nope. We're not friends anymore."

Naruto's face lit up. "I want to jump in on this too! Sasuke," he spoke in a grave manner, " –we were actually never friends."

Sasuke threw his hands up in the air dramatically. "I guess I'm not friends with anyone then!"

"That's right, hn." Deidara flashed a cheeky grin.

"Tch. I'm not friends with any of you," Sakura stated, turning her back towards them.

""Wait what?" Naruto gasped.

"I guess this makes us all enemies then, hn."

"But...enemies can still hangout, right?" said Naruto. The others contemplated it for a moment, then nodded their heads in agreement.

"Alright my fellow enemies, time to go adventuring!" Deidara slung his arms around Sakura and Naruto, reeling them in by his side. Sasuke frowned for he had been left out of the group hug. Not that he had wanted to have been included in it anyway.

As they walked on Sakura stopped suddenly. "That's so cute!"she squealed, pointing at a designer kimono. Everyone turned to look at her with mild surprise.

"I-I don't know what came over me." She admitted.

"You're all crazy, hn," Deidara reasoned as he scratched his elbow.

"Says the one who likes to blow things up for no reason," Sasuke muttered under his breath.

The four of them spent the rest of the day together, and by the time nightfall came even Sasuke had to admit he had enjoyed himself.

Deidara was pretty loud and obnoxious, but he was a fun guy to be with, even if he did try to boss them around because of their three year age gap and blow random things up.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye," Deidara began as they finally reached the inn, knowing someone had to say it.

Naruto, Sakura, and even Sasuke all stepped forward at the same time to hug him, not wanting to leave him behind.

"Hey, stop that you freaks. We're enemies, remember?" But he found himself hugging them back, also sad that their fun had ended so soon.

"We'll meet again one day," Deidara reassured them. "And when we do I want you all to fight me, since you all seem so bent on becoming great ninja." He flashed a grin and saluted them. "See ya!"

And without another word he walked away. Soon enough, his body was engulfed by the mist surrounding the city and he was gone.

* * *

><p>That night Sakura woke up in cold sweat after having a terrible nightmare where everyone she loved died. It was always the same one.<p>

She needed some fresh air so she threw on a robe and wandered outside.

"Itachi? What are you doing out here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." All of a sudden his body disappeared and reappeared standing behind her. Sakura turned around to face him, still in awe. _He moved so fast._

"If there's something on your mind, you can tell me what it is. We are friends now after all, right?"

"Thank you, but I'm fine," Itachi lied smoothly, gracing her with a smile so familiar, she didn't even have to stop and think about where she had seen it before. _Sai's fake smile_. Sakura's hand found Itachi's after a second, interlacing their fingers tightly as she wrapped her small arms around his waist.

Itachi hadn't a clue why the young girl was doing it, but he found himself instinctively hugging her back, just like he would with Sasuke. And surprisingly – it felt good.

"You look like you needed a hug," she confessed.

"What-" he began, but she cut him off.

"A smile is the best way to deal with difficult situations. Even if it's a fake one. Used properly, you can fool anyone with them." She paused, and a sly smile darted across her face. "But you can't fool me."

"…Why did you think I was upset?" Itachi questioned after a minute or two had gone by,.

Sakura flopped down wordlessly beside him, hands laced in her lap, green gaze cast down on the ground. The girl's shoulders then rolled into a shrug. "You had a scary look on your face that people usually get when they're worried about something ," Sakura explained and peeked a glance at Itachi. "Kind of like this…" And Sakura imitated it, looking highly ridiculous on purpose, and even Itachi couldn't suppress a grin. But it also made him wonder. _How could this little girl he only just met see through him so easily? _

He sighed before speaking again. "You're young Sakura. There's still so many things you don't understand."

Sakura opened her mouth to retort but Itachi spoke again.

"Let's just say there's something only I can do."

"You're not some hero who can do everything by himself. You're just someone who's deluded himself into thinking he can do everything on his own," she finally said, momentarily forgetting to mask the mature tone in her voice. She stood up, ready to go back to bed, but then she paused, fingers lingering over the handle to the door. She frowned at the glass, uncertain of what to say. "Don't try to suffer by yourself. I'll be there for you when you need someone. Things will be okay. You'll see." Itachi could only stare at her, his mouth opening then closing again, unable to say anything for once. _ She knew something. _

Sakura immediately realized she had said too much. "Well, it's late so I'm going to bed. Night." Then with small wave and a warmhearted smile, Sakura quickly opened the door and shut it again, leaving Itachi alone once again, with nothing but his thoughts to keep him company. The comforting way in which she spoke made him want to believe her words...but then again, it also made him raise his eyebrow in suspicion. Although it really didn't matter one way or the other. She would soon despise him, just like everyone else. And Sasuke...he couldn't even bear to think about how his opinion of his loving older brother would drastically change. If only his father and the clan wasn't so stubborn. Or if the Third Hokage's attempt to negotiate a peaceful solution would actually work.

Itachi leaned back against a tree and put his arms behind his head, looking up at the stars, wishing someone could save him from the darkness that was inevitable. But he had his orders, and unless a miracle happened, they were final.

The next day was dedicated entirely to making their way to the Land of Wind. After crossing the sweltering desert for what seemed like hours, Sakura's father removed his hat and announced. "We've finally arrived! Welcome to Suna everyone!"

Sakura felt a smile tug at the corner of her lips. '_Here I come Gaara!'_

* * *

><p><strong>This chapter was so much fun to write! If you have the time feel free to leave me a review telling me what you thought! :D Thanks for reading!<strong>


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